This year was the smallest Christmas gathering at my parent's home ever. My siblings all have other in-laws or places to go, and, although they have in the past given priority to the Dells for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, a number of factors, including my mother's health, contributed to a scattering this year. Until a couple of days before Christmas, we weren't even sure that Dad would be able to bring Mama home that day. It ended up being just Georgie and I visiting, and we brought with us the makings of a decent, if abbreviated, Christmas dinner. My parents seemed in reasonably good spirits, and Mama's strength and alertness continue to improve. My dad's campaign to convert the house to be handicapped-accessible continues, most recently with an impressive enclosure for the wheelchair lift he put in during the summer. Although far from the most festive Christmas day we've ever had, we felt good about what we were able to accomplish, and spreading family visits out over several days is probably more like what my mother is up to.
milwaukeesfs) wrote, 
