Christmas with the In-laws

Ok ... so for a change we celebrated Christmas Eve with the family ... well the in-laws at any rate. Christmas Eve has always been the night for my family ... its when we had our turkey or turkey equivalent, and then put on our sunday best and went to midnight mass, after which we came back home and if I was really lucky, opened up the presents under the tree ... as we got older, it was off for a drink at one of the hotel bars in town (oh the good ole days of brannigans) or midnight supper at Goodwood or the Mandarin ... heady days indeed ... christmas sucks as you get older ...!!

Anyhoo ... it was M's sister and mum who came to spend the day with us. They rocked up at mid-day and we prepared the evening meal of roast chicken at a leisurely pace ... there was good food and wine, loads of silly laughter, and thankfully minimal reminiscing ... all in all it was like Christmas with friends ... and in my world .. thats as good a compliment as you're going to get ...

But and there's always a But, M's mum is no longer the woman she used to be ... that vivacious grey bobbed personage with twinkly eyes and a determined face ... who would tell sly jokes and speak of architectural tours in Italy and meeting australian authors at a creative writing workshop ... where is that person hiding now behind puzzled hazy eyes?? I want that woman who chucked a tanty in the cinema foyer in Alex to jump out and grab me with a literary hook and jab ... but sadly ... no ...

When I asked her how she travelled to Melbourne that day, train or bus?? She replied that she came in the Truck with Frank her brother ... which would have been very exciting indeed except for the fact that Frank has been dead for a considerable number of years ... and I know she nodded politely and chuckled at things that I said but she didn't quite understand ... and she maintained in her head that our office was the toilet, even though I kept steering her in the right direction ... and bless her .. we tried to help her open her presents, but we would free one flap from the confines of the cticky tape, only to have her smooth that flap back in place again ...

This is what my mother is slowly turning into ... my only consolation is that I will not be there to experience the bulk of it ... I will have to put up with the shock each and every time I see her ... I am now starting to fear death ...

Still ... it was a fine day and a truly great Christmas ...