December 29, 2007 - 8:10 AM.

Xmas a great success

Xmas a great success, the Eve at my folks' house w/my sister's family, driving on the Day, Boxing Day at my inlaws'. Only thing we missed was seeing my brother and his wife, they could not afford plane tickets from the East coast this year, and my mother especially was sad not to see her son, with which I agree heartily.

Lots of Play-Doh and Mr. Potato Head and Diego for the child; an iPod for J. (oh yes, I am the queen of Xmas engineering), and a sewing machine for me! And since J. is now in the middle of his work's traditional 2-week Xmas plant closure, he is home all the time and we are enjoying using the time -- a little home improvement, some business goal-setting, a toy sort/purge, even a movie together. (J. was given $55 worth of movie gift certificates, so we can even go and not touch the budget!)

This is the last year we can escape Santa. But then I probably shouldn't mourn that -- he'll probably really enjoy the Santa thing when he's old enough.

Pah, I'm just glad my MIL was still around to enjoy Xmas at all, and that my own folks are about to close the deal on a nice snug house in a pleasant residential park. I had thought I would never see them own a house in this crazy expensive market, but here they are with a good down payment, equity already in the home, their car paid off, and even their medical bills caught up and done. (The kidney doctor wrote them a lovely letter last week writing off the final YEAR of payments -- he has been retired for 3 years, my mother was nearly his last patient, and he was a gem to save her life in the middle of that night.) So they will be able to pay less for housing, OWN their house, be much closer to us, retain some rural feel while having neighbors (and a nice swingset!), and keep putting away money in both a savings account and my father's retirement (new for them), and when my mother starts collecting social security next year they will just sock that away as well. They will have some provision for their approaching old age, and I have put off thinking about that for years because it had just seemed that they never would. It feels a great relief.

Now if we can just get my MIL's cancer under control . . . FIL had his right knee replaced on the 6th and is recovering well, but it has been a long road for them this month. I was able to do the basics of helping while I was there -- load dishwashers, cook breakfasts -- but both of them would pick up more quickly if there were more help over there. Well, they have their friends R&C close by, and the housekeeper comes in once a week. They are not alone.

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