Harmony, I know it must be hard to host everyone overnight like that, and it's hard, if not just impossible, to say "Y'all just need to get a hotel this year."
My dbro -- who lives out of town and doesn't even know if he will be here for Tgiving! -- told dmom that "Lucy should host Tgiving b/c her house is bigger -- Aunt A's house is not big enough for all of us anymore."
I told dh -- when some of the other cousins start stepping up to do this, I will start taking my turn, but so far, I am the ONLY one of the five who has hosted a Christmas and none of our Tgivings have been anywhere except Aunt A's or my dmom's. DH is totally in agreement -- even more so than me -- that if we start rotating houses, everyone needs to take their turn, and we have done ours. (No one ever mentions why other uncle and aunt never host -- everyone knows uncle is much too OCD to have all of us piled in on their house. No one realizes that, as far as certain things are concerned, dh is about the same.)
And yes, we ARE crowded -- no matter where we are, my house included -- BUT... Aunt A already has her huge family plus other aunt and uncle a lot of the time, so I do not think dh, myself, and dmom are going to make much difference.
IF dbro and his girlfriend were sure they'd be here AND ds and his family would be here, that would be 9 of us, and I might consider taking my turn again. There are five grandchildren in my paternal grandparents' family, and it has been five years since I hosted Christmas. But this is NOT going to be the year.
My next oldest cousin does host some stuff at her house, but usually in warm weather (Memorial Day, 4th of July, etc) when people can be inside or outside, and the kids mostly stay outside and enjoy her swimming pool. I remember one boy cousin and his wife hosting a fall family-birthday gathering a long while back... I think ddil was pregnant w/dgs at the time. I don't believe I have ever been to a family party at the other boy cousin's house, and dbro keeps himself conveniently out of state.
But anyway, at least when our family gets together, no one comes from out of town except dbro & gf and they stay with dmom.
Today has been a mix, so far as productivity is concerned.
I paid several bills...
went to the bank...
cooked supper and cleaned up the kitchen...
got clothes ready for weekend at College Town...
s/s toilets and cleaned dh's shower...
helped dgs with bath, played a game with him, got him to bed, read Bible story...
OH -- and timed dgs on three passages reading, three times each.
They were approx 75 words and he read them all in less than 40 seconds each. I think he was supposed to read them in less than a minute, so we're good, even though he sometimes transposed a couple words or skipped a word. I think he gets tired of reading it repeatedly and he gets to acting silly and/or watching the clock.
I saw his "diebel" score in his notebook, and one section wasn't as high as I thought it would be but * POTB for ME * I did NOT mention it to ddil -- the better to NOT appear "hovering." I know he reads very well -- we've been playing Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego tonight and he can read all the questions in this game that is designed for 8 years old and up -- but I think he may be rushing through it when he does it for the teacher. The other section of the score was much higher than the "benchmark" -- so I guess he is doing okay.
His pronunciation of some words is still, of course, not perfect, but I imagine that will come. Twins -- do some families do presents EVERY night of Hanukkah? It's eight nights, right? Hmmm... and dh is complaining b/c we have stretched out family Christmas to THREE nights, LOL!
Speaking of finances, dh started drawing SS at 62, and advises me to do the same b/c his philosophy is, we don't know how long till it goes broke anyway, so we might as well get all we can back out of it as soon as we can.
If dh predeceased me before I turned 62, I would be able to continue to draw from his SS until I reached 62, right?
OH MY -- that sounds so morbid! But after the scare we had last year, I do think about these things now. I am only ("only" LOL) 57, so it will be five more years till mine can start. And his retirement will end at his death -- we both chose the larger payment option w/no death benefits for the spouse, thinking it would be best to get the larger paychecks while there were two of us, and save if possible. However, my SS will be larger than his, b/c I worked 5 years longer and had a higher degree.
(((
Blessed))) re: insurance...
and (((
HRH))) for upcoming tests...
Speaking of calendars, I started looking for the one I get every year and it is nowhere to be seen! Argyle Sweater, large wall calendar.
First the Far Side quit making wall calendars, now Argyle Sweater? * sheesh *
Thinking of
Kathryn AND
Lilac, too! And
Mystery Woman... and
MT... and so many others. I am sooo thankful you all are still here!!! I do NOT know what I would do without you!!!