And So This Is Murmas...
We had almost my entire family over on Saturday to (finally) celebrate Murmas on this side of the Atlantic. It was a swell evening, with all of my siblings (two brothers, one sister) and their respective beaus/spouses/offspring in attendance, and two pans of lasagna and a cheesecake all made by mrs_clubber (and was they yummy? Why, yes they was).
Everyone seemed to like the presents we got for them, and we certainly enjoyed ours. Among the notables (for me) were:
And that's just from this past weekend. I also got a nice haul in Norway (including the Half Life 2 Orange Box, a sweater (the one underneath the Clonetrooper helmet above), a cookbook, another tie, some assorted stuff for the apartment, etc.
And next weekend, Christmas with my parents! It's a like a month-long Festival of Loot. Wheee!
♣ ♣ ♣
And speaking of me being a Terrible Son...
The Murmas Festivities of Saturday night were a lot of fun more fun than I normally have at family gatherings (not that they aren't fun themselves; this was just more fun). It wasn't until last night that I realized why that was, and then I felt an instant flash of guilt: it was because my parents were not there. More to the point, because my mother was not there.
Now, I love mom, and I get along great with both my parents. mrs_clubber and I see them at least once a week, and we frequently have them over/go over there to play cribbage, etc. But when my mom is present at these gatherings, we can only have one conversation at a time (between the twelve of us), and mom has to be able to follow that conversation, or she will become cranky. In fact, I am only just realizing that the entire evening is pretty much structured around mom's needs and wants.
This time around, sans mom, it was more like a small dinner party. I could have a conversation with my sister and her beau while mrs_clubber conversed with my other brother and his wife while my other brother and his roommate chatted with our nieces, all at the same time. It was awesome. I know that sounds kind of weak or lame, but put side-by-side with other family gatherings, this one was awesome.
I will also thoroughly enjoy spending time with my mother (and father) this weekend when we do "Christmas" with them.
Now... now I have to try and figure out how I can pull this off in the future, preferably often enough that it becomes the norm: two family gatherings, one with my folks, one with everyone else. Two Thanksgivings, two Easters, etc. Tricky. Especially since mom was miffed that we decided to celebrate Murmas on the 17th anyhow despite the fact that she would not be able to attend.
A bad, bad son am I.
P.S. Re-reading that list of presents my family gave me ... it's like they think I'm some kind of nerd or something.
Everyone seemed to like the presents we got for them, and we certainly enjoyed ours. Among the notables (for me) were:
- Devo action figure
- Clonetrooper Helmet (it has a button on the side that slightly distorts your speaking voice and makes that cool "Pshht" noise before and after you speak. I spent much time saying
Look, sir droids! )
- A Robot B-9 pez dispenser (which says things like "DANGER Will Robinson!" when you tilt its head back)
- IKEA gift card (mmmm... IKEA...)
- 2 Ties
- A DVD of The Frighteners (which I have been idly looking for for a while now)
And that's just from this past weekend. I also got a nice haul in Norway (including the Half Life 2 Orange Box, a sweater (the one underneath the Clonetrooper helmet above), a cookbook, another tie, some assorted stuff for the apartment, etc.
And next weekend, Christmas with my parents! It's a like a month-long Festival of Loot. Wheee!
♣ ♣ ♣
And speaking of me being a Terrible Son...
The Murmas Festivities of Saturday night were a lot of fun more fun than I normally have at family gatherings (not that they aren't fun themselves; this was just more fun). It wasn't until last night that I realized why that was, and then I felt an instant flash of guilt: it was because my parents were not there. More to the point, because my mother was not there.
Now, I love mom, and I get along great with both my parents. mrs_clubber and I see them at least once a week, and we frequently have them over/go over there to play cribbage, etc. But when my mom is present at these gatherings, we can only have one conversation at a time (between the twelve of us), and mom has to be able to follow that conversation, or she will become cranky. In fact, I am only just realizing that the entire evening is pretty much structured around mom's needs and wants.
This time around, sans mom, it was more like a small dinner party. I could have a conversation with my sister and her beau while mrs_clubber conversed with my other brother and his wife while my other brother and his roommate chatted with our nieces, all at the same time. It was awesome. I know that sounds kind of weak or lame, but put side-by-side with other family gatherings, this one was awesome.
I will also thoroughly enjoy spending time with my mother (and father) this weekend when we do "Christmas" with them.
Now... now I have to try and figure out how I can pull this off in the future, preferably often enough that it becomes the norm: two family gatherings, one with my folks, one with everyone else. Two Thanksgivings, two Easters, etc. Tricky. Especially since mom was miffed that we decided to celebrate Murmas on the 17th anyhow despite the fact that she would not be able to attend.
A bad, bad son am I.
P.S. Re-reading that list of presents my family gave me ... it's like they think I'm some kind of nerd or something.