Christmas Cheer

Last night, our small group got together for a Christmas party. It was almost a year ago that we first met most of these folks, when Lance and Mary invited us to their New Year’s Eve gathering. It would have been impossible for us to anticipate how close we would grow to them over the last twelve months and it’s the prospect of leaving them that adds to our anxiety about the possibility of leaving Fort Wayne.

Denny, Lance, Dave, Eric & Palmer

Back: Jeannette and Becky
Front: Jayne, Mary and Deb

The evening started with soup and chili and other foodstuffs. All the high schoolers were in the living room, all the younger kids around the kitchen table and the adults jammed into the dining room. It was loud. It got louder later. Here, Dave waxes eloquent . . .

They have a tradition of a book exchange at their Christmas get-togethers. You’re supposed to pull a book off your shelves, wrap it and bring it for a white elephant type of exchange. It’s kind of a dilemma, because you aren’t sure if you want to give away your favorite books but you also don’t want to bring something that no one else wants. I ended up taking a book by Hemingway or someone that I’d never been able to finish while Jeannette brought an autographed copy of a book by one of her friends. We came away with a book by Jerry Jenkins that we’re going to regift to Phillip for Christmas and a beautiful book from Eric called, appropriately, Beautiful Evidence by Edward Tufte. I don’t think I understand anything in the book, though.

Jeannette models some fairy wings that Mary gave MelodyJoy for Christmas . . .

Most of the high schoolers had long since abandoned us for a party elsewhere, stranding Phillip with the old folks, but we put him in front of a computer and he was fine for an hour or two. MelodyJoy had great fun in the meantime with Rachel and Jameson.

After the gift exchange, the men made our way to the basement, where the kids were playing Guitar Hero or Rock Star or something in the back corner and we sat down to watch part of the Packers-Bears game.

Soon, however, the video game called like a siren and the old guys took over. And this is where things got louder. I was the only one with too much dignity (i.e., too many inhibitions) to participate. And this is what it looks like when the senior citizens take control . . .