2023 Life Logs, Day 359: Christmas Day in Boothbay
Date: Monday, December 25, 2023
Weather: Overcast; High 45, Low 33 F
Location: At Home in Marti’s Home in Boothbay, Maine
Merry Christmas! Christmas day here in Boothbay was such a wonderful day. There were squeals of delight mixed with oohs and aahs and smiles and hugs showing thanks. We spent almost two hours opening everything in our stockings, taking a break to have some of Heather’s Monkey Bread halfway through.
Then we launched into the huge number of presents under the tree. Sam got money to put toward the purchase of a car and a load of snowboarding gear.
He might be beyond squeals of delight, but he was obviously delighted with his gifts. Jonah got a bathrobe with a hood that he loved so much he didn’t take off all day.
He also got Liverpool soccer shirts, new ear buds, and a load of other things that caused whoops of joy.
Ollie got the thing he has wished for since he was two. He has always wanted a John Deere tractor. He didn’t get that, but he got a promise from Santa that his mom and dad will search for a lawn tractor and hopefully have it by his birthday in March. He just couldn’t believe it at first,
but he was so very excited once it sunk in that it was true. He also got Lego sets that brought forth the squeals.
Heather gave everyone things she brought back from her trip to Dubai. I got a pair of earrings that are just beautiful. And I also got a very special present from Heather and Jed. They took one of Windbird’s old sails into the sail bag shop and I got a red and white bag with an anchor applied.
I will always think of Windbird when I carry the bag. Jed and Toby both got ceramic oyster platters
and Marti loved her matching cook book and dish towel representing Robert McClosky’s children’s book, “Blueberries for Sal”, which takes place in Maine.
It was sometime in the early afternoon before all the presents were opened. Ollie launched into his Lego sets and Sam and Jonah worked on finishing up their soccer projects which they proudly displayed once they were completed.
All of the adults, except for me, pitched in to help Marti get the dinner ready. We thought John, Becky, and a visiting friend were going to join us, but Becky was just not up for two nights out in a row.
Before dinner, I announced I was going to drive downtown to see the Christmas lights so Sam and Jonah joined me, with Sam driving. Downtown was like a Christmas fairy land. Jonah took photos of some of the displays, but it was impossible to capture the overall effect. We especially enjoyed the library lawn and the very Maine lobster and lobster boat.
On the way home, we went to the Boothbay Railway Village and enjoyed their display of sailboats and Santa’s sleigh. Dinner was yet another feast of fantastic food and after dinner we decided to watch a movie, an old favorite which is a satire with different twist, “The Princess Bride.”
I have not been allowed to do anything for three days because of my back nerve pain and it has been fantastic—not the pain, but the not doing anything.. I feel a bit useless, but I’ll get over that. But tomorrow, it is back to reality. I can’t thank Marti enough for inviting me to come have Christmas here in Boothbay. I think the last time I was here for Christmas was in 2007 for Sam’s first Christmas. I’ll have to do a little tour down memory lane to make sure that is correct. But whenever, it has been a very long time. This visit has been wonderful, and I think everyone had a very, very Merry Christmas. I sincerely hope you did as well.
