Ah the holidays. You know, that glorious time of year when friends and families get together for food, merriment, and an all around good time; or at least that’s the general idea. Before I continue, I want to stress that I love my family very much. As far as families go, they are second-to-none and I wouldn’t trade them for the world. With that said, when I get together with my family over the holidays I often find myself trying not to lose my mind during these times of good tidings.
Let me set the table for you. My family consists of seventeen people. This includes my parents, brothers and sister, the in-laws, and seven nieces and nephews (ranging in age from seven to one). All tolled there are seventeen of us. My one brother and I are the only two single adults left so my tolerance for this type of sensory overload is a bit skewed. In my own little world I can handle a lot of goings on, but then again, I have a little more control over what happens in my little bubble. In the “family holiday” world, however, it’s a free-for-all that only seems to subside when those at the ends of the age spectrum start to fade off and go to bed.
Here’s how it usually happens. I arrive to my parents’ home and immediately suspect
they have been robbed because all the furniture in the otherwise comfortable family-room is gone. That’s when I’m reminded that everything has been relocated throughout the house in order to make room for the multiple dining tables and plethora of mismatched chairs that will provide a cozy (read: elbow-to-elbow and no room to move) atmosphere for our holiday feast. I spend a few quite hours catching up with my parents and help move furniture.
After a while, the rest of the family starts to trickle in. The first few minutes are fine as salutations are exchanged with handshakes and hugs for all. Then, the may-lay begins. It usually has a similar recipe so it’s fairly predictable. It goes something like this:
Start by saying any one of the following, “Hey guys, don’t chase each other.” “SLOW DOWN!” “There’s no running here kids.”
Repeat the above phrases about thirty or forty times and enjoy a little pre-dinner wine.
Begin gathering (or herding) the seven kids and eleven adults around the table to collectively sit for a pleasant dinner.
Once seated and everyone’s plates are full, choose one child to start getting antsy thus creating a chain reaction causing all the kids to demand they be excused to continue running around the house.
Repeat above phrases until someone gets hurt or someone starts to cry (including the adults).
As the empty bottles of wine and beer stack up in the recycling bin and some actual furniture is returned to the family-room it’s nice to sit down and enjoy a few laughs with the family. Oddly enough, this is not a new pattern. It happened again this year and is bound to happen next year as well. Through it all though, I’m thankful that I have such a wonderful family to spend time with during the holidays. It must not be all that bad because for some reason I end up going back for more every year (and Christmas is right around the corner). Now who wants more pie with their insanity?
Let me set the table for you. My family consists of seventeen people. This includes my parents, brothers and sister, the in-laws, and seven nieces and nephews (ranging in age from seven to one). All tolled there are seventeen of us. My one brother and I are the only two single adults left so my tolerance for this type of sensory overload is a bit skewed. In my own little world I can handle a lot of goings on, but then again, I have a little more control over what happens in my little bubble. In the “family holiday” world, however, it’s a free-for-all that only seems to subside when those at the ends of the age spectrum start to fade off and go to bed.
Here’s how it usually happens. I arrive to my parents’ home and immediately suspect
they have been robbed because all the furniture in the otherwise comfortable family-room is gone. That’s when I’m reminded that everything has been relocated throughout the house in order to make room for the multiple dining tables and plethora of mismatched chairs that will provide a cozy (read: elbow-to-elbow and no room to move) atmosphere for our holiday feast. I spend a few quite hours catching up with my parents and help move furniture.After a while, the rest of the family starts to trickle in. The first few minutes are fine as salutations are exchanged with handshakes and hugs for all. Then, the may-lay begins. It usually has a similar recipe so it’s fairly predictable. It goes something like this:
Start by saying any one of the following, “Hey guys, don’t chase each other.” “SLOW DOWN!” “There’s no running here kids.”
Repeat the above phrases about thirty or forty times and enjoy a little pre-dinner wine.
Begin gathering (or herding) the seven kids and eleven adults around the table to collectively sit for a pleasant dinner.
Once seated and everyone’s plates are full, choose one child to start getting antsy thus creating a chain reaction causing all the kids to demand they be excused to continue running around the house.
Repeat above phrases until someone gets hurt or someone starts to cry (including the adults).
As the empty bottles of wine and beer stack up in the recycling bin and some actual furniture is returned to the family-room it’s nice to sit down and enjoy a few laughs with the family. Oddly enough, this is not a new pattern. It happened again this year and is bound to happen next year as well. Through it all though, I’m thankful that I have such a wonderful family to spend time with during the holidays. It must not be all that bad because for some reason I end up going back for more every year (and Christmas is right around the corner). Now who wants more pie with their insanity?
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment