My Mangled Meanderings: Christmas Eve at Nanny and Poppo's

Christmas Eve is being at Nanny and Poppo's house. We all cram into their tiny two-bedroom house, all twenty-nine of us give or take (I think that I counted correctly) depending on what is going on in everyone's lives at the time. We dress in layers because it's always hot whether or not the space heater is blazing since there are so many of us in such a tiny space. We hug and kiss and visit to catch up on what we've missed since we've been together last. We eat dinner after Poppo leads us in the blessing. Our elbows graze those sitting beside us but we don't mind. There are so many of us that I will probably still be sitting at the "kids'" table when I'm forty. We fight for a spot on the couch, sitting shoulder to shoulder while Nanny leads us in singing "Happy Birthday to Jesus." Everyone else joins in from the dining room and kitchen. We open gifts and wait in line to use the one restroom. We eat Nanny's strudel, sugar cookies, and homemade candy until we feel like we're going to explode (oh wait, maybe that's just me). Some of us have come from mass and others will leave for either 9:00 or Midnight Mass, the most magical mass of the year. It is always so nice to see everyone and to all be together, even for a few hours. I can still remember being younger and the excitement I felt on the way home from Nanny's, knowing that Santa would be coming in a matter of hours, or maybe he had already appeared. I always gazed at the moon on our way home, hoping for a glimpse of his sleigh and the eight reindeer. That similar feeling still reappears once a year, no matter how old I've gotten. Now I will be able to share it with Sawyer.

This year was especially fun since Sawyer was there. Everyone held him and loved on him. It was so much fun to see so much love toward our little man. We have so much good news in our family from Matthew and Jackie getting married, Rachael's wedding in February, Dad getting a great job in Wyoming, and Dawn and Jackie expecting this June. Nanny is hoping for some great-granddaughters since she already has three great-grandsons. Lorie and I decided that Jackie and Dawn can deal with the pressure for a while. :)

This year was extra special because I was at Nanny's three times. I was there when Mom, Aunt Net, Aunt Dodie, Tracy, and Megan put up their tree. I helped Nanny make her world-famous apple strudel (at least as much as Sawyer would allow). It wouldn't be Christmas without it. She looked me in the eye and asked if I would be carrying on the strudel tradition and I assured her that I would. I can make kolaches too but they in no way rival Nanny's. I think that with practice maybe one day I can at least get close. I can only hope.