White Christmas
by Scott Hardie on December 28, 2009
We're enjoying our winter vacation in central Illinois so far.
Tue 12/22 - When you're hitting the road for your vacation right after work is over, every extra minute feels like an hour, which means I did 45 hours of overtime. The drive was easier than we thought, probably because we had days to prepare this time. Last time we drove from Florida to Illinois, it was a family emergency and we scrambled to hit the road, and the drive was a bear.
Thu 12/24 - I slept 12 hours after we arrived, which is longer than I've slept in a year, and it was a great way to start a vacation. I needed this break. We played some board games with Kelly's parents and brother, ran into a college friend who somehow wound up in this same tiny town, ate a delicious turkey dinner cooked all day by Kelly, and opened presents. Santa brought me lots more board games to play. Kelly and I have been forced to conclude that we are now board game geeks, and we're pretty happy with that.
Fri 12/25 - The annual Christmas party with Kelly's mother's family, in the Chicago suburbs. I have mixed feelings about the family, but I have mixed feelings about my own family sometimes, so I'll be happy to join their clan someday. I almost scored an electric guitar and amplifier in the gift swap game, but wound up with a carpeted cat bed instead. Kelly was overjoyed to get a drill press that her father claimed for her before I could. This day was my first in the bracing Illinois deep-freeze again in many years, and it was one more (unnecessary) reminder why I left.
Sat 12/26 - Shopping with Kelly's mother in the area. I tried a Maid-Rite sandwich for the first time and regretted never having one when I lived here. After an hour of browsing a lot of junk at an antiques mall, some of it ugly racist figurines from a different era, I came across an elephant statuette that I hope my mother will really like, as a sign that her son has finally embraced antiquing if nothing else.
Sun 12/27 - Visiting Kelly's Amtgard friends in Springfield. Kelly knew almost everyone, but I smiled and played along. It's hard to believe that it's been two years since we moved Kelly out of that city. Everything is different and exactly the same. Three hours of board games and I could have played longer.
Today - I stayed home to do laundry and finish some mandatory work projects while Kelly and her mother ran errands. Her father is asleep and the house is peaceful and quiet. Outside, there's a thick eight inches of snow as far as I can see. This is what I needed.
Tomorrow, we will head to Chicago and St. Charles to see old friends. We already limited the number of people that we planned to see because there wasn't much time, and now I fear that we're going to have to shrink the list even further. To my friends in the area, I'm sorry if we missed you, and I hope to return to Chicago again soon to make it up to you... preferably in the summertime. :-)
Five Replies to White Christmas
Steve West | December 29, 2009
Ditto on the board games. Antiqueing - Ugh! I remember my first wife's quest for the perfect pie cabinet. I told her I was completely convinced that was an oxymoron. I did say ex-wife, didn;t I? Glad the trip is what you both wanted it to be.
Amy Austin | January 2, 2010
Heheh...
Yeah, board games rock! Antiquing, too... lol.
Ex-wives... not so much. Being them *or* having them, I'm sure. ;-)
Scott Hardie | January 3, 2010
I grew up antiquing. My dad collected Royal Doulton, starting with the fairly common character jugs and gradually moving into really rare, obscure, and expensive stuff. Every road trip, we had to stop at every sign that said "antiques," no matter how much it resembled a junkyard. We'd spend approximately fifteen hours wading through crap for every item purchased. I guess my parents liked it; it bored me to tears, but I was a kid. This all stopped when I entered high school and family trips became a memory, and I forgot about those many, many wasted hours until we hit this store. I feel like I don't know who could ever want that stuff, but every item has a buyer out there somewhere.
Lori Lancaster | January 3, 2010
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