The Official Christmas Wrap-up

Well, we’ve done it. After relying for 15 years on our relatives to give our kids a happy Christmas, we finally had to do it on our own. I was a little worried, especially since as I mentioned, some of our packages didn't arrive. In fact, some Christmas catalogs just showed up today. I don’t know why these marketers waste their money sending us magazines full of flannels and scarves that we are never going to order despite their cozy appearance.  Our Christmas looked nothing like the one they are selling - think flip-flops instead of boots, swimsuits instead of sweaters...

But back to the story: After the Christmas baking fail, and making three attempts to get to confession on time, and then a failed attempt to join the homeschool group for caroling at the nursing home, (I wrote down the wrong day and missed it. We took some boxes of toiletries to the home, which was one of the most luxurious nursing homes I’ve ever seen, with a huge nativity set in the beautiful courtyard.) I was a little nervous that the kids might be disappointed with their Christmas.  One of the challenges of living on an island is that the stores feature what most people want, and they are not continually restocked.  But we managed to find the main things each kid wanted. It helps that my thirteen year old asked for duct tape.  I was surprised to find the curlers the girls wanted. And every kid wants band-aids and a toothbrush in his stocking, right? Then we found ourselves the recipients of a few gifts from new friends for whom I hadn’t bought anything to reciprocate.  So my Christmas lesson was learning to be a grateful receiver and to swallow my embarrassment. I don’t know if I did a very good job of it. I should draw a religious analogy…

Fortunately, Christmas Eve was a beautiful day.  Despite both my husband and I fearing for our sanity, we caved to the kids’ pleas to go to midnight Mass.  We started a marathon of Christmas movies early in the evening, rightfully hoping that the youngers would fall asleep and catch a short nap before Mass.  The 5 year old didn’t wake up until almost time for Communion, even though we changed her into a velveteen dress just before dumping her in the car. 

I felt a little guilty for skipping out on our little chapel community, but the Cathedral  Mass was just what we expected: a soul-lifting celebration. The music was breathtaking, the nativity (“belen”) was beautiful (everyone lined up to have their photos taken in front of it), angels were hung all around the sanctuary, the liturgy was both solemn and celebratory.  And perhaps the best part was the gift at the end of Mass: the bishop sang “Feliz Navidad” in Chamorro.  My husband had earlier commented how every Christmas party ends with that song.  At first I wanted to laugh, but the bishop sang so well, with just the right tone of subdued joy, that my heart was won over.  At the end of the celebration, the 8 or 10 attending priests came out with lifesize baby Jesus statues for everyone to reverence before they headed off to the courtyard, where hot “bunelos dagu” were served at 2 in the morning.  These are fried yam donut holes served with syrup.  We were in such high spirits afterward that it was no chore to stay up until nearly 4 doing what parents do before Christmas morning.

And Christmas morning was a flurry of delight. No one was disappointed. We ate chocolate and drank coffee and sang "Happy Birthday Jesus" and called all the relatives to wish them peace and good will. 

Even with just a few hours of sleep we were able to pull together a Christmas dinner for friends. One family hosted appetizers, we fixed the main meal, and another family made desserts.  It all came together nicely. A few “singles” joined us, including our priest and a favorite ER doctor.  Although we missed being with our extended family, it was nice to have a community to share the love with.  Everyone went to bed fat and happy.

The rest of our Christmas break has been quiet. I was hoping to write a report of a trip to Japan, but we failed to get seats on a military flight to Okinawa, although we tried twice. Maybe I’ll write that story another time. It would have been a cheap vacation to a foreign country: military flights if space is available are free, we found lodging for $40 a night, and an 8 person rental van for less than $100/day.  Instead we’ve been in a lounging mode, conserving energy for next semester, I suppose. The youngers have been putting some miles on their new bikes, and the olders have been reading their comics, Pearls Before Swine, Far-Side, and Foxtrot. They don’t seem to mind that the books show signs of having been purchased used off a major internet retailer.

Our plans for New Year’s Eve are subdued: a family bowling party.  But I’ve been taking the time to get some reading done and to semi-plan for school.  Perhaps I’ll think of a resolution before the end of the weekend. In the meantime, some of the few Christmas photos. Usually I take enough pictures to fill an album. Next time I'll try to get the settings on the camera right.

Exchanging sibling gifts Christmas Eve. Everyone was thrilled
even with obviously regifted items.

The Cathedral

The belen before El Nino Jesus was brought in.

Wishing Baby Jesus Happy Birthday

The belen completed.

The rush.

New bike, new shoes, new pajamas, new doll, new backpack.

Instead of flying to Okinawa, we explored Tarague Beach.

Finding shells.

Tide pools.

What was found in the tide pool.

A hermit crab nest

from Guam