Life After Windbird, Day 113: Lots of Christmas Activities
Date: Saturday, December 3, 2016
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High Temp 50, Low 37 degrees F
Location: At Home at The Studio, Falmouth, MA
With 22 days left until Christmas, we jammed a lot of activities into this one day. The first weekend in December is Falmouth’s big Christmas kick-off. Heather and boys spent the night here last night so we could use my place as home base today. Three of the big events of the day were taking place directly across the harbor from here, so it was easy to see and hear what was happening right from my deck. Heather went over early to register the boys for the 9 am half-mile Elf Run and herself for the 9:30 am three-mile Jingle Jog. Ollie decided not to run, so Heather went with Sam and Jonah and Ollie and I came along a few minutes later. Both Sam and Jonah really enjoyed being part of the Elf Run.
Spirits were running high with everyone dressed in crazy Christmas costumes. When Sam and Jonah finished the Elf Run, the got a big kiss from momma and then I drove the boys back to my place.
We put our chairs out in front of The Studio to watch the Jingle Joggers as they ran past. There were more people in this race than I expected and everyone was in a jolly mood. We could see Heather coming in her red shirt and green leggings.
We cheered Heather on as she ran past and when the last runners went by, we headed back to the apartment for hot chocolate to warm us up a bit. It was a gorgeous day, but the wind made it feel even chillier than it was. I left the front door open so we could hear the music from across the harbor, but Ollie quickly requested that we shut the door—too cold. Sam and Jonah, however, sat on the deck to drink their hot chocolate and watch the activity across the harbor. Heather returned and we all watched from the deck as Santa rode into the harbor in a boat and docked just across from us.
As he got off the boat, the boys yelled, “Merry Christmas.” But they opted to not stand in the long line to sit on Santa’s lap. They unanimously decided to write letters to Santa and put them in the special mailbox on the Falmouth Green. Instead, we went to Coonemessett Farm to buy Christmas trees. Since Sam was born in 2007, the Goldstones have never spent a Christmas at home. They always go to Maine to be with Jed’s family. But this year they are going to stay home until the day after Christmas when they will drive to Maine. So this is the first time the three boys have gone to get a Christmas tree for their own house. They chose a beautiful Frazier fir and I chose the skinniest tree I could find as my space is really limited. I think I have a balsam fir, but not sure. I loved the fullness of the Frazier firs, but they were all just a little TOO full for my space. We went back to Heather’s to put up their tree and decorate it.
The boys dug into the plastic bin of Christmas decorations just like it was a treasure chest.
I helped Heather get the tree into the tree stand and then Sam took over to help her put the lights on the tree. Once the lights were on, Jonah and Ollie pitched in to put the first decorations on—real candy canes. And then they dug into the box of Heather’s ornaments. Every year since their births, Mark and I gave Heather and Justin a special ornament. We continued this up until they got married. Since then we have continued the tradition to include spouses and grandchildren, but not every year. But Heather’s thirty some ornaments from 1975 to 2003 were more than enough to fill the tree along with the few ornaments added since then.
After the tree was decorated, I borrowed the boys’ boom box and headed home to put my tree up. Heather offered to come with the boys, but I knew they needed some at home time. It is not as easy to put up a tree by yourself, but I got it up, got the lights on, and enjoyed doing it. Since I have decorated all the windows and sliding doors in the apartment with white icicle lights, Sam suggested that I buy colored lights, like the ones on their tree, for mine. Jonah and Ollie agreed, so I followed their advice. I haven’t had colored lights on a tree for years, but I like the contrast with all the white lights in the windows. I will save decorating the tree for a time when the grandkids come over and can help, but I love just sitting here and looking at the lights. And I’m using the borrowed boom box to play my Christmas CD’s. On Windbird we had a 10 CD-changer, but I have no such thing here. I guess I’m going to have to invest in some sort of stereo system, but for now, the boom box with one CD at a time works just fine.
I think by evening, we were all on Christmas overload. That plus degraded children’s behaviors, and the time Jed needed to be picked in Sagamore (30 minutes north of here), meant that we did not go to the lighting of the Green tonight. I offered to go get Jed so Heather could stay home with the boys and hopefully enjoy some peaceful time together. Not sure if that happened, but I can always hope. As Jed and I got close to home, he said he guessed he would have to start working on Christmas lights. I smiled when we drove up to the house and the Heather and boys had the Christmas lights already on in the front yard. And I know they were really hoping to surprise him with the fully decorated Christmas tree.
Today behind us, we now have to gear up for tomorrow’s Christmas parade. Unfortunately, I am feeling just awful. I have had terrible sinus issues the past two weeks but during the night last night, I woke up sneezing with what is now a full blown head cold. Ugh! Hopefully I can get this under control before I head to Nashville on Thursday.
