Christmas/Holiday Season 2024

We swap every year. One year, we get them for Thanksgiving, the next year we get them for Christmas. They have an absurdly long holiday break, so when we don't have them for Christmas Day, we get them for New Year's.

This is a Christmas year. My dad is coming to visit. My mom passed away in July this year, and now I got all married and shit, so it's just going to be a super weird year. But I'm ready to start the new traditions with my family.

Of course, we are starting off the holiday with a cracked stovetop, so we currently do not have a stove for the holidays. Uhhhhh who's got a recipe for a microwaveable Christmas dinner? Can we use the oven if we don't use the stove? At least we have a smoker (and we live in Texas where the weather isn't colder than a witch's tit in a copper bra) so we will have meat.

 

However your holiday and your meal turns out it will be special because it is your family in its new form. Merry Christmas Wenders.

 

So my niece was coming to stay with my sister and brother and law, bringing her partner and his two little girls and two big dogs. The plan was they were going to stay all week and it was going to be a "great Christmas" for the little ones. Well, the partner is on disability due to PTSD due (not entirely) to his service in Afghanistan, he homeschools the girls, none of them are vaxed, neither are the dogs, he wore a Trump shirt on a trip to Costco with my brother-in-law, but most of time was disengaged or disinterested in participating, even when his dogs were causing messes inside or outside the house. Always on the phone, "doing his own research."
So my niece has become the general caretaker for this family, she's not yet done with her undergrad and wants to go to grad school. Oh yeah, it just wasn't comfortable for anyone. So my niece the partner et al decide to head back tonight on a 300 plus mile drive in the rain after just three days. My niece was miserable having to defend her partner the entire time.
Needless to say, this isn't what my sister and brother-in-law imagined for my niece. The little girls are really sweet and I think my niece is kind of being held as an emotional hostage, worrying what would happen to them if she bails out. Did I mention the little girls call my niece "mama" (the birth mother took off apparently in jail for drugs) and my sister "grandma." I told my sister she might want to run a background check on the guy, who apparently has no other family.

 

Man, that's right out of Robert Earl Keen.

 

Merry Christmas, everybody.

 

My wife just reminded me of one of my more comical Christmas stories.
1989. I don't think it was Christmas Eve but a few days before. Snow storm hits putting my last connection flight home in doubt. USAir finally comes on and the flight was a go, they would clear the runway, and we'd be the last flight in. Anyone who didn't want to go could get a later flight. Anyone who want to, get on the plane. There was maybe a dozen of us.
The flight took 30 minutes. The runway was cleared of snow, but the taxiway was covered. It took us more than an hour to get from the end of the runway to the terminal. Eventually, the passengers mutinied. "Just stop here. Let us out. We'll walk. You can see the gate from here." Well, they refused, citing FAA regulations. "We won't tell. Open the door!"
To pacify everyone, they started bringing around free beer and snacks. We had a full-blown Christmas party on the plane. "Hey, take us around again!"

 

I'm probably just going to jingle some of the way. I'm tired.

We'll see.

 

I would go to Christmas Eve services, but the church hasn’t updated its online calendar with service time and hasn’t yet answered its phone.

 

Rob Vieten (@bigvten) on Threads

the church of Piper

 

Yeah, it kind of blew up our Christmas plans. My sister was really excited. Took the week off of work. Now she's even invited my other sister (who she doesn't particularly get along with) to stay with her so my sister won't be crashing with my parents in their small flat in an independent living place. And needless to say, she's worried about my niece. Worried she's trapping herself in a situation.

 

Welcomed my first grandchild to the world Thursday, a couple weeks early. So it has been a successful holiday season indeed.