December 25th:
1 PM: I call parents. They say they're "just getting going."
5:30 PM: I arrive at parents house. They're just about to put the turkey in the oven.
6 PM: Dad fills the nut trays, makes guacamole, and gets out some chips. We snack and socialize.
8 PM: I finish wrapping presents.
10:15 PM: Turkey is done, dinner begins.
December 26th:
12:10 AM: Pie consumption and dinner conversation ends. Head to living room to watch previously discussed cartoons.
1 AM: Mom finishes assembling bags of food (in lieu of objects) and wrapping a couple presents.
1:45 AM: Baby boomers finish unwrapping presents which I amusingly addressed in yellow highlighter on newspaper.
2:30 AM: Everyone goes to bed.
11 AM: I wake up and check email. Reflect positively on the decision to take Boxing Day off work.
1 PM: Breakfast begins. (Blueberry pancakes, pickled herring, sliced ham.)
Last week my mom left a long rambling message about how she didn't know what to get me for Christmas because I'll be putting all my stuff in storage in a few months anyway and I've got the books I need... So I told her she could give me tasty things I can eat before I head south this spring. Amusingly, we each gave each other a pomegranate. I gave her three varieties of ginger candy from Pacific Ocean Market. I delayed wrapping presents so I could read as much of The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat before I gave it to my mom. I also spent several hours reading
Our Dumb World before I gave it to my dad.