Christmas 2024

I was invited to Lee-Anne's family's place in Brampton for a Christmas celebration. However, since Granddad had passed just two days prior, it seemed better for me to stay in Kitchener with Mom. This made sense to everyone. 

I'll still be heading out to Brampton tomorrow and I think there's some kind of celebration on Saturday. Lee-Anne's family is big enough that they have to do it in pieces. I did make it to one of their events about a week ago, before the news about Granddad.

Mom didn't feel like having a traditional Christmas, so instead of turkey or ham, we had lasagna. She and Lee-Anne say they'll tag-team a more classic dinner at a later date. They volunteered that, I don't feel entitled to anything special. Plus, obviously me and my brother can contribute. 

The lasagna was still pretty good, and we got to try out their new dining room table. One of my coworkers dropped one off, along with an old coffee table on Christmas Eve. Since she'd been on vacation she didn't know about Granddad and I didn't share. Didn't feel like ruining the Christmas cheer.

Likewhys, I'll need to request January 2nd off work, which would be our first day back. My Granddad's ceremony will be that day. It shouldn't be a problem, as my boss explicitly told me to let them know if I needed to take time off for a funeral. But I only learned of the new arrangement on the 25th, and our work chat was full of Merry Christmases. I didn't want to kill the vibe.

My coworker's old coffee table is solid. I was a little leary of the dining room table, as it seemed a little wobbly at first. But it was given to us with the legs detached and me and my brother assembled it by hand without any tools. So it could be that we just didn't get it quite tight enough. When we were eating dinner, I didn't notice it feeling wobbly at all. It's a perfect size for their space, too.

They also got some more stuff from my cousin, who was storing a few things for them and also passed down some knicknacks of her own. Her mother, who is an artist, came along and gave a few of her paintings. She gave one to us as a wedding gift. Between her art, mine, and a couple pieces from another aunt's, they have a nice family gallery going on.

Lee-Anne's parents followed through on delivering the couch and armchair from her grandmother's old house. We also donated an old TV monitor, so the place has filled out quite a bit. Feeling much more like home.

Because everyone has put so much into rebuilding their space, we didn't do a traditional gift exchange. At least not between our household and theirs.

It was a white Christmas. The weather has trended warmer the past few years, but it's been pretty reliably cold and snowy this time around. I've heard some people complaining, but with my climate anxiety I celebrate every frosty day. 

I didn't get around to posting about it, but me and Lee-Anne went to Christkindl Market a little while ago. It's a seasonal event that celebrates Christmas from the lens of Kitchener's German heritage. It was uncomfortably, but appropriately cold. Felt very festive.

This is my 999th post. One of my New Year's resolutions for 2024 was to make it to 1000. I think I can do it.