CHRISTMAS 2008

A quiet affair, for the most part....very low key. As we did last year, we (Martha, Joe and I) went in to have Christmas dinner with our Mom at her seniors' home. They do a great job with decorating and with the meal, so it's all very nice...and relaxing for us all. No one has to cook; no one has to do the dishes afterwards!

Martha & Joe's dog Kennedy puts on a sulky face as he realizes that we're all about to head out for Christmas dinner—without him.

Mom happily unwraps her presents...in this case, a treasure-trove of word-seek books that help to keep her mind limber. This is her 90th Christmas.

The Reeve women.

CHRISTMAS CLIPS

Martha the Elf

Me, the other Elf

Mom the Elf tries on her Christmas hat

Happy Elves: Martha, Joe and Mom

Mom opens her presents.

Christmas dinner 2007 was at Parkwood Court, where Mom has been living for more than a year now. She has trouble coping with being outside of Parkwood, so we've found that it's easier to go to her rather than trying to convince her to come out to stay with us. Besides, this way, NONE of us has to do the Christmas dinner dishes! And at 89, it's unlikely we'll ever get Mom to suddenly become a social butterfly. By staying in her comfort zone, it made Christmas enjoyable for everyone.

We were all quite festive in our Christmas hats. Even Mom got in the spirit of things and put one on. The dining room was very nicely decorated, the meal was great, and the atmosphere in general was quite festive. Lots of families in having dinner with parents and/or grandparents. All in all, a very pleasant afternoon!

REMEMBERING

Today would have been my brother Tom's 58th birthday. A musician, a photographer, a naturalist, a computer techie before it was cool, a statistician, a father, a son, a husband, a brother...

We remember the good times we shared; we mourn the life of a good man who lost a long battle with alcoholism in February of 2006. Finally at peace.