ReTread

It has been pointed out to me that I skipped over a very important event- Hawkins first Christmas. I did, but it wasn't intentional. I just write what I'm thinking about. So, let me update y'all a little bit.

The refugee- Well, Molly and I got the big R from our little refugee lady. I'm talking about rejection. She wasn't home when we went by her house at the appointed time. The area was not good. Molly and I, sheltered as we are, got scared shitless and basically threw her stuff on her front porch and peeled out of the apartment complex with tires screeching. It really wasn't that bad, but it was eye opening. There were children playing outside, people walking around... Why were we so scared just to be dropping something off? Well, first off, we stood out and that never feels good under those circumstances. And the apt. complex, too, was this huge maze with seemingly thousands of apartments. You could get lost in there and never found. We DID get lost. I don't even know if she got the stuff or not. It was kind of a bust, to be honest. I guess someone got all those presents, though. Hopefully, they found the right home.

Mama D. and Papa Tom- They arrived early Sunday morning, and of course, fell in love with Hawkins all over again. He's just so damn loveable! The place wasn't spotless, but my mom handled it in stride. Her and Tom were stuck upstairs in our office/junk room sharing a big blow up mattress. It's actually pretty comfy, but people have been known to roll off onto the floor in the middle of the night. There's also no central heating and air up there so there are some space heaters. It's basically like camping, with books stacked up everywhere in place of trees.

Christmas Eve- I felt the magic. I think we all did. Santa was on his way!!! There was some shopping, a lot of wrapping (mine was already done!yay!). My focus was the big dinner. It was fun just hanging around the house and watching my mom and Tom interact with Hawkins. They all seemed to genuinely like one another which is a good thing. There wasn't time to make Santa cookies, but we did sprinkle the lawn with reindeer treats that we got at the zoo(sparkly bird seed). There was a breif moment when Mama D. came down stairs for church wearing a flourescent green jumpsuit. I sent that woman marching right back upstairs to change. She did insist on wearing it Christmas morning and you will see it (trust me, you can't miss it) in the photos. That damn thing would have blinded the poor, baby Jesus had she worn it to church. Acutally, the homily at mass was pretty good. Fr. William was talking about how he asked a whole bunch of children what they thought the best Christmas miracle would be. One little girl said, "The best Christmas miracle would be if the baby Jesus in the Nativity jumped out of the manger and came alive!" This, I think, is the cutest thing I've ever heard and pretty apt, too. That would be a miracle indeed. Although it does seem that Jesus comes alive for people during Christmas like no other time. I guess we just need to be open to his aliveness the rest of the year. The spirit is well and thriving, we just have to act on it within us.

The Standing Rib Roast- It was fabulous! I abandoned Paula Dean's recipe for a simpler one that my UnKle Rob gave me. It was perfect- lush, juicy, tender. Damn, it was tasty! It's a good thing, too, because right after Christmas I read an article on meat processing plants and have since given up meat. So, I went out with a bang! I'm not going to be a nazi about it or anything, but I'm only going to eat meat on special occasions and when I know the meat is free of hormones, antibiotics, feces, etc. This means I'll only eat farm raised animals (preferably local) or those killed out in the wild. This stuff is expensive which is why I won't be eating much of it. That rib roast was a freakin' peice of heaven, though.

Christmas morning- Hawkins didn't really get it, but it sure was fun opening his presents for him. I will open presents for anyone and it makes me almost as happy as opening them for myself. I think the biggest hit of the day was the red wagon that Mama D. got Hawkins. He kept pulling himself up and walking around it holding on to the edges and testing out the wheels. Scott's dad is an engineer and Hawkins has it in his blood. He seems very much into seeing how things work. We all got some great presents. Scott got me an Amber necklace and earrings that I absolutely love as well as a purse I wanted made in Guatemala or one of those places down south. I'm in love with this store that the archdiocese owns called "Just Creations." It's a fair trade store where you can buy hand made crafts and all kinds of stuff from poor countries where the artisans are actually getting a decent price for their goods. So, Scott got me some stuff from there, too. Scott's big gift was a microbrewery kit with all the fixings to go along with it. My boss, Dr. Fell, has brewed beer in the past and even brought me some "Billy Beer" caps in for Scott to use. Billy Beer was brewed by Jimmy Carter's brother Billy and popular in the late 70s. Pretty cool. Mama D. got a sewing machine as her big gift and Papa Tom got a new camera. We made out like bandits!

But alas, Mama D. and Papa Tom could not stay forever. They had go back to their jobs and lives in Atlanta. We were sorry to see them go, but did enjoy our small little threesome for the remainder of the holidays. It was good for all of us, I think. Life gets so busy. It's nice to reconnect and lounge and not have to think for a few days.

We did not get to go to Chicago because Scott had to work a few hours on the 28th and a few hours on the 31st. I was not up to hauling Hawkins by myself up to see the fam. I do regret it a little b/c it sounds like I missed a lot of good gossip and a TON OF FUN!!!!

So, that was Christmas. Here are some photos of Xmas and the birthday.