Holidays in the empty nest are very very different from the ones we had when all the kids were little. They are neater and more organized. Way less noisy.
A little less festive, at least in the lead up to The Big Day.
This year we’re also finding it really hard to get everyone together on one day. There are the pressures of other social commitments and new extended families. And there’s also the pressure of the corporate world, since two of our kids work for the wonderful world of retail profits.
So, I’m fighting off a bad case of “Bah Humbugs” this Christmas Eve. I’m doing my level best to change my thinking from “They won’t all be here on Christmas Day!” to “Hurrah for Christmas, the Extended Edition.”!
Remember the Lord of the Rings movies? They were awesome, right? Lots of adventure, gorgeous scenery, magic everywhere and fantastic music. We watched those DVDs over and over when they came out. We thought they were pretty much perfect.
Then the Extended Editions came out. Holy Wizards, Gandalf! Wow! We watched every new scene with our eyes wide and our mouths agape. The best movies EVER had just gotten better!
So….
Welcome to Christmas 2013, the Extended Edition. Tonight we will celebrate our usual Christmas Eve with Grandma and all the Aunts and Uncles. Child Number One and her fiance will be with us! Yay!
When we get home, late tonight, Child Number Two will be in the house! Huzzah! We get to wake up on Christmas morning with him under our roof! Big huge bacon filled breakfast, anyone? Then Number One will come by and we’ll all open gifts and drink prosecco and laugh a lot and eat piles of homemade ravioli (shrimp scampi this time: I’ve outdone myself!).
Finally, on the 26th, we’ll go out and pick up Child Number Three! His turn for the royal treatment! Big bacon breakfast, round two. Homemade Fried Chicken and cornbread (he doesn’t eat shrimp)! More gifts, more laughs, more bubbly, more hugs.
I won’t think of it as less than Christmas. Nope. This is Christmas 2013; the Extended Edition. The Best just getting Better.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, Glorious Festivus to everyone!
Empty Nest, Full Life 
The holidays can get very complicated … but oddly, when you get older, they get simpler again. We’re in the simpler part. Our kids just do it and we get to relax and enjoy 🙂 Merry Christmas and remember to smile 🙂
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Its all good here, Marilyn; I am just that typical Italian Mamma. I live for the times when they are all around my table! Merry Christmas to you and yours!
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Actually, it sounds like a blast! I will be picking up my mother-in-law this afternoon and it will be a fairly low-key night/day with the three of us and John’s mother…
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Enjoy, Elyse! Low key sounds good to me right now….! Merry Christmas!
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Your ravioli, on the other hand sounds to die for! When I retire I am going to learn how to make pasta. There is nothing like fresh ravioli. Yummmmmmmmm
Merry Christmas!
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ENJOY!!! 🙂
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thank you! Merry Christmas and all that good stuff to you and yours!
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Merry Christmas – Extended Edition Style! We are in our “off” year which means our children are at the in-laws for Christmas (we celebrated last weekend with our kids). Thankfully, we still have extended family around to include us pathetic empty nesters! Enjoy your family:)
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Merry Christmas to you and yours!! I am beginning to realize that it isn’t the actual date that matters; its the time all together whenever that might turn out to be!
Glad you have family around you today!
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This all sounds exiting and perfect. Three days plus of Christmas smiles, laughs and love!
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and now I need three days of sleep!
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One of my favorite memories as a teenager was when Dad would take one of the 8 of us out to breakfast on a Saturday morning. I always looked forward to my turn…every 8 weeks. I looked forward to the one on one time with Dad, having him all to myself, the conversation that would be all about me, and not having to share him with anyone else….unless I had been naughty, and then I kind of dreaded the conversation, at least for the first 5 minutes. So maybe this one on one Christmas with each child was something different than Christmases past, but maybe it was a little extra special too.
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You have hit it exactly, Beth!!! That is just exactly why it was a special treat for us!
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