We had a lovely couple of days. On Christmas Eve day Smokey had a doctor's appointment at the VA clinic 40 miles away, and Elder Son went along. Smoke's doc there is youngish and did his residency in Duluth, one of the places E.S. applied for residency. E.S. had accompanied Smokey on another appointment a year or two ago and met the doc; they hit it off. When the VA called on Tuesday to remind us of the appointment, the secretary asked if our sons were home, and when I said yes, she asked if E.S. would be coming along. Apparently the doc remembered him.
While they were gone I baked three pumpkin pies, wrapped all the presents, and did few other pre-Christmas tasks that escape me now. It is always fun to have a few hours at home alone.
After they got back they watched Love, Actually with me. Younger Son Arrived shortly after, and we had the traditional Scandinavian Christmas Eve dinner of enchiladas. (Our traditional C.E. dinner seems to alternate between enchiladas and a smörgåsbord, depending on what I feel like making. Such is the way of some traditions.)
After the late dinner we opened gifts, just like my own family used to do. That's another Scandinavian tradition, maybe because Scandinavian children have always been way too impatient to wait until Christmas morning ;-)
My favorite gift was not one for me, although of course I loved those as well. Younger Son gave Elder Son a big Rubbermaid tote filled with homeowner supplies: Drano, a drain snake, extension cord holders, packets of screws and nails, Gorilla Glue, a 5-pack of super glue, a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, a Goo-Gone product, and several other household essentials that a new homeowner might not necessarily have on hand. Elder Son was suitably pleased. I reflected that Younger Son has turned into an extremely thoughtful and creative gift-giver.
Younger Son used his brand-new Belgian waffle maker to make breakfast for all of us on Christmas morning. We played with new toys and napped and one of us knitted, and we all had a delicious ham dinner in the evening. Y.S. drove back to Minneapolis b/c he had to work today.
