Its you and me Babe..

And then there were two…

Twas the nights before Christmas and all through our house, it seemed a lot was stirring.

There were brothers and a sister. There were nieces. There was a nephew. There were daughters, some Grandsons, some Granddaughters, and three sons-in-law. All had traveled a great distance.

On a designated night, the kitchen island magically became (easy for this scribe to say) a charcuterie for 27 people to graze upon.

On the granite island were three soups, more cheeses, pickles, salads and cold meats than I knew even existed and of course the obligatory exotic breads and crackers with appropriate spreads. There were more desserts than one could shake a stick at.

A daughter (Angela) had arrived a couple of weeks earlier. She planned the charcuterie, prepared the items and then on the day it was to be laid out, enlisted the help of sisters Ashley, and Aspen and various others in preparation for the grazing of the large group. 

Later that evening after everyone had visited with family members whom they might not have seen for several years, and had partaken of the charcuterie, some departed. This left us with 16 for the next several days. 

All the bedrooms were taken. Extra provisions were stored in the cool garage.  Downstairs resembled a campground.

On Christmas afternoon the the 16 remaining sat down for dinner.  The menu included Zayne’s famous fried turkey, the traditional homemade ham loaf, and all the fixins.

The special meal was served on Grandma’s Joyce’s best china, the Royal Albert Highland Thistle set. It’s a pattern no longer produced. The initial pieces had come from a set once used at Glamis Castle. I’m sure royalty at one time or another surely dined using this china. It’s a great story for when we have more time, you know what I’m like with stories.

Dinner featured a printed menu and place cards so everyone knew where they were to sit.

The day after Christmas more people left, one by air to Denver and then Chicago, others headed to Wichita, and the day after that a few more headed to Owasso and on to Deer Park IL, near Chicago.

Finally those remaining got into three vehicles and headed to Wichita.

The next day some left Wichita for Amsterdam, Edinburgh and then finally home to Balmullo in Scotland.  Some drove on to Enid OK planning to fly out later in the month.

The two remaining, Grandma and I, we headed west from Wichita toward home.

When we arrived, the outside Christmas lights were on.  Things looked much the same as they had for the past several weeks. Inside, however, it was much quieter, and the house somehow seemed larger.

Downstairs in the aforementioned campground, there remained only a small pile of sleeping bags, evidence that multiple people (young) had slept there.

Oh, did I mention that on the eve of the arrival of the 27, the dishwasher quit.  I discovered it’s great to have a son-in-law who’s a bomb squad technician because he’s very good at carefully taking things apart. Now that everyone is gone, the parts have arrived and I’ll attempt to fix it myself with Grandma as my helper.

And then there were two, Grandma and I…we’re OK with that.  One of our favorite lyrics, borrowed from Sonny Bono, is “I got you Babe!”  We occasionally modify it slightly to “It’s you and me Babe,” because sometimes it seems that’s all we have… each other.

Grandma and I talked about  how blessed we are.  My brother Tom had called to let us know they would be coming when the big group was here, and he asked, “There isn’t a medical reason for this get-together is there?”  I thought a bit and then understood his question as Joyce had recently had a medical emergency requiring a midnight  Life Flight to Amarillo, and I’ve had a less serious issue or two in the past. I assured him there was no medical reason to get together. In many cases, death or serious illness are the reasons families get together. It’s best to do it like this.  Thank you all for comin’ while we’re still alive and kickin’.

There were times when I found multiple Granddaughters sittin’ in my normal spot on the couch there by the window,  the one where I can see the bird feeders and plug in my Samsung phone, my iPad or the new earbuds I got myself for Christmas.

My first thought was it was because their respective devices needed charging, and my charging cords were located within easy reach. Those girls are pretty technical when it comes to keeping their devices operating.

But  one morning the younger of the three climbed over the back of the couch to try and wedge herself in between the other two and her Grandad. As they say in the commercials, “It’s hard to put a dollar value on that.”

I’m always up way early. I enjoy the dark and quiet of the morning. In the few mornings since Grandma and I have been back home, no middle daughter has wandered through the house unsure of which time zone she is in.

I think we will “go dark” in a few more days.  No outside Christmas lights and no tree and fireplace mantle lights inside to suddenly come on and enlighten (pun intended) my otherwise dark early mornings. 

And then there were two!

They are adapting those two, as they always do.  Spring is a comin’ soon!

“It’s you and me Babe.”