Christmas n' COVID

Christmas this year felt extra short but very very fun. We decorated and got our trees the day after we got back from Florida, where we spent Thanksgiving. We got a huge tree for the family room, and a smaller tree for the Long Room. I put up the Christmas villages and all of the other many, many decorations. I love the house at Christmastime. I look forward all year to decorating. 

This marked the kickoff of the season, and we began watching Hallmark Christmas movies as often as we could, and doing some Christmas crafts. This year we made tiny snowmen ornaments out of pop can tabs, snowmen and girl ornaments out of wooden beads, and polymer clay matryoshka girls out of large tabs from tuna cans. 

We watched all the usual Christmas specials, and made lots of cookies. 

And then it was Christmas week. We started off the true holiday with a visit to Phipps with Mom and Dad to see the winter light show--always a favorite. Then we had dinner at Mineo's.  

The next day, Molly and Luca arrived. I planned a Welcome In evening, with hot appetizers and even a traditional hotdish, to celebrate our togetherness with coziness and comfort foods. Farrah didn't seem too upset at the dogs' arrival--her time with them over Thanksgiving, when Molly petsit for her and Nutmeg, seemed to have allowed the dogs a new sense of tolerance. The kids were all happy to be together, even in sub-zero temps, and on the 23rd we all even spent some time outside. Andrew brought out the Solo stove, and we helped the kids fill water balloons to freeze into ice orbs. 

We spent Christmas Eve in Connellsville, and Mom made sloppy joe's for lunch before we all got ready for church. Mass was memorable thanks to a remarkably in-depth and increasingly absurd sermon that sent Molly and I into the worst/best kind of laughing fit--the church laughing fit, more extreme than any other. Thank goodness I was wearing a mask (to prevent COVID, as I ALWAYS DO), which helped hide me expression. Molly had to bend at the waist and put her head down to hide her face. It was something else. 

Then it was on to the Orlando Christmas Eve party, with a twist this year--Andrew was tapped to play Santa, since the *usual* Santa was out of town. He did a wonderful job, fully in character. 

It was a long drive home afterwards, but we made time to read Twas the Night Before Christmas before the kids went to bed. Then Molly and I got to work arranging all the gifts. Sadly, this was the first year the girls 100% did not believe in Santa, but they weren't any less excited than any other year, which made me feel better. They were, however, so tired from the day that they did not wake up for a sneak peek, our tradition. They actually didn't wake up until 7am. 

Then it was all Christmas morning fun. The kids opened all their "Santa" gifts and looked through their stockings. Then Mom and Dad arrived and we opened many many many more gifts. Eventually we cooked our Christmas dinner and sat down around 4pm to eat. Later in the evening, Jeremy's family joined us for pies and cookies. 

Wait, there's more: after everyone left, we gathered once more to open our Made Gifts, the capstone of the day. And then Christmas was over.

Mom and Dad spent the night, and the next day we just stayed home and relaxed--ate a lot of leftovers, played some games. More of the same once they left for Connellsville. The kids went outside to remove the balloon layer from the very fun ice orbs. We watched the Matilda musical on Netflix.

On the 27th, I woke up with a sore throat--I'd had it the prior day but assumed it was just a Christmas comedown, and that a cold was imminent. I decided to test for COVID just in case, as we always do when one of us feels any kind of symptom. To my horror, two pink lines appeared right away. POSITIVE. And Lucia tested positive a few minutes later. We scrambled into my room, closed the door, and watched in disbelief (well, listened in disbelief) as the rest of the holiday went to ashes. Molly and Luca left. Andrew and Greta tested negative. Lucia and I spent the next two days binge-watching Wednesday on Netflix.

We all fell in rapid succession: Dad tested positive on the 28th; Greta and Andrew tested positive on the 29th; Mom tested positive on the 1st. At least we didn't have to isolate anymore--our whole house was a COVID house. The only place I can think of that might have exposed us all was Mineo's. But it could have been anywhere. 

Fortunately, Lucia and Greta were asymptomatic. I had bad congestion and fever. Andrew had fatigue. Dad and Mom were sicker but both got Paxlovid and recovered quickly. 

It was not a great end to our Christmas, or the year, but I guess it was only a matter of time. All of us but Andrew had avoided it for almost three years. Our luck finally ran out. But up to that point, before the pink lines? An excellent Christmas. I miss the decorations and the trees. Already looking forward to getting them out again next year.