Christmas Eve in Cleveland Hts.

It’s Christmas Eve in Cleveland Hts., Ohio.  The stockings aren’t hung yet but lots of presents have been wrapped and are ready to go.  Carolyn has joined us from Washington, D.C. and Christian has joined us from outside of NYC.  We are all at my mother’s house, making the final preparations for Christmas.  Christian is cooking us dinner from his new Two Fat Ladies cookbook – Cawl (Welsh Lamb Stew) and Stuffed Peppers.  Tonight, we will celebrate Christmas Eve at Hope Lutheran Church, the church where Liz and I were married and where Christian and Carolyn were baptized.  Because the service at Hope starts at 6:30, some of us will be walking to the Methodist church a few blocks from home for midnight service.  (You’ve got to be in church at midnight, singing Silent Night with candles!)

Tomorrow will be an all-day affair!  Family members will be coming and going as they make time for extended families.  We’ll be waking up (not too early, hopefully) to home-made cinnamon rolls and Christmas presents.  The first sibling family should arrive at about 11:00 with more to follow.  Eventually, there will be roast beef and Yorkshire pudding for 25 (yes, that’s right, 25!) at 3:00. followed by more presents and festivities.

But the fun doesn’t end there!  Dec. 26 is my brother Chris’s birthday.  The crew will return for more food and festivities.  But eventually, everyone will go back to their homes, including Carolyn to D.C. and Christian to NYC.  Then the reality will hit us that we have less than a week to get everything packed up or packed away for the next grand adventure – Europe!  More on that later...

Tom