Yesterday Was Christmas

Yesterday was Christmas. You might be surprised to find that out, but it was indeed. As "Evita" opens tomorrow night in Newark and I fly out this afternoon, my entire Texas clan gathered here at my folks' home last night to help me have a dose of family Christmas. In attendance were my brother, sister and their spouses and four out of five of my nieces and nephews, my niece's boyfriend, one nephew's girlfriend and our two oldest friends in Texas ... Oscar and Janet were our first Texas neighbors when we moved here from Pennsylvania in 1967.

Mom served a holiday buffet ... roast beef, potato salad, fruit salad, baked beans, cinnamon rolls ... not traditional, but lots of comfort food for celebrating a week early. My sister-in-law contributed a sugar-free cheese cake with a hot blueberry sauce and brownies with a layer of chocolate and toffee chips for dessert. I am pleased to say that I kept my promise to myself. I had no dessert ...12 weeks now since my last sweets! (As Blanche in Golden Girls would say ..."It's a personal try-ummph" :)

It was an unusual Christmas gathering in many respects. Everyone was in a party mood, lots of laughter and teasing and everyone was delighted with their gifts. There was none of the descension (if that's a word) into bickering, no bringing up of past slights, no bitchy asides between my sister and her husband; the kids are now adults, all of them in college; they rock! And we really like Randa and Dusty who were included in the festivities for the first time. My gift to my Dad, brother and sister was well-received. I paid for 300 slides from our childhood ...1956-1967 to be transferred to CD. (Dad was the photographer, Mom the editor and I was the idea man and financier for the project:) It will be Jeff's first glimpse of how much love Colleen and I had for him right from the time he was born 45 years ago.

I'm lucky. I can surround myself with the love of my family and my friends. It's a gift that is irreplaceable. I will be able to draw from this well for the next couple of weeks when I'm in Newark and Washington, DC. I may be in hotel rooms while the rest of you are celebrating with your nearest and dearest, but I won't be alone. I will be reliving the memories of yesterday, a day where the true spirit of Christmas brought my family together early .... a day where they made their wayward actor-son- brother- friend feel appreciated and loved!

ps... I have to tell you that all of my family was very generous and spot on in gifting, but one present floored me. I had to go through nine wrapped boxes (box inside box inside box) to get to it, but my sister and her husband bought me a 30BG Video iPOD in black. I am astounded. Now, if I can just figure out how to use it. *grin* I also want to thank my friend Steve, rossbear for his wonderful gift ... it's a beautiful reminder of our time in Montreal and his day in Quebec City and a cherished remembrance of our long time friendship!

Yesterday Was Christmas

Yesterday was Christmas. You might be surprised to find that out, but it was indeed. As "Evita" opens tomorrow night in Newark and I fly out this afternoon, my entire Texas clan gathered here at my folks' home last night to help me have a dose of family Christmas. In attendance were my brother, sister and their spouses and four out of five of my nieces and nephews, my niece's boyfriend, one nephew's girlfriend and our two oldest friends in Texas ... Oscar and Janet were our first Texas neighbors when we moved here from Pennsylvania in 1967.

Mom served a holiday buffet ... roast beef, potato salad, fruit salad, baked beans, cinnamon rolls ... not traditional, but lots of comfort food for celebrating a week early. My sister-in-law contributed a sugar-free cheese cake with a hot blueberry sauce and brownies with a layer of chocolate and toffee chips for dessert. I am pleased to say that I kept my promise to myself. I had no dessert ...12 weeks now since my last sweets! (As Blanche in Golden Girls would say ..."It's a personal try-ummph" :)

It was an unusual Christmas gathering in many respects. Everyone was in a party mood, lots of laughter and teasing and everyone was delighted with their gifts. There was none of the descension (if that's a word) into bickering, no bringing up of past slights, no bitchy asides between my sister and her husband; the kids are now adults, all of them in college; they rock! And we really like Randa and Dusty who were included in the festivities for the first time. My gift to my Dad, brother and sister was well-received. I paid for 300 slides from our childhood ...1956-1967 to be transferred to CD. (Dad was the photographer, Mom the editor and I was the idea man and financier for the project:) It will be Jeff's first glimpse of how much love Colleen and I had for him right from the time he was born 45 years ago.

I'm lucky. I can surround myself with the love of my family and my friends. It's a gift that is irreplaceable. I will be able to draw from this well for the next couple of weeks when I'm in Newark and Washington, DC. I may be in hotel rooms while the rest of you are celebrating with your nearest and dearest, but I won't be alone. I will be reliving the memories of yesterday, a day where the true spirit of Christmas brought my family together early .... a day where they made their wayward actor-son- brother- friend feel appreciated and loved!

ps... I have to tell you that all of my family was very generous and spot on in gifting, but one present floored me. I had to go through nine wrapped boxes (box inside box inside box) to get to it, but my sister and her husband bought me a 30BG Video iPOD in black. I am astounded. Now, if I can just figure out how to use it. *grin* I also want to thank my friend Steve, rossbear for his wonderful gift ... it's a beautiful reminder of our time in Montreal and his day in Quebec City and a cherished remembrance of our long time friendship!