Kathy's First Perin Christmas
Having Jamie in Dayton for my family Christmas was so special. As always, she finds the perfect spot to fall asleep on Mom’s couch, which gave Mom and I the perfect opportunity to make sugar cookies for when she wakes. We spent several nights keeping Mom and Bill up till midnight playing games and eating cookies. She got to be with us when we opened gifts at Dad’s house - and this Christmas was special in other ways. It was our first Christmas to have Gabi, Scott, and Benicio home as well, which was the perfect storm for the most delightful chaos. Since I was to be with her family on Christmas day, we got to unwrap gifts and hang out as family for the several days before Christmas. We ate macaroni and cheese and monkey bread at Mom’s, and Julia made a wonderful dish almost like Jambalaya that should definitely become a tradition. At Dad’s we got to spend an evening together eating, playing with my nephews, and cuddling on the couch for a “fun-filled family Christmas” movie night of National Lampoons.
This was also her first McCarty Christmas that she attended at my Aunt Mary Jo’s house. She loved how the family unwrapped gifts individually and with story telling mixed in. We take so much delight in our gift exchange, that it lasts till the evening games begin. Aunt Anne got to wrestle with the young ones, as Euchre ensued in the kitchen. Several wine glasses dropped to their shattered ends as Conor used his dinosaur arm extension to bring ice cubes to their brims. Anyone who raised their glass and said “I need more ice Conor” knew to hold on to it with a firm grasp. Aunt Anne also brought the music as we unwrapped gifts, and so we listened to Bruce Springsteen “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” on repeat.
Now, onto Christmas day proper. A Perin Christmas is a famed occasion. It is the stuff of fairytales, the medium of dreams, and the ether of imagination. It takes close to a month for all the decorations to go up - which means come Halloween, the Perin home looks like the Nightmare Before Christmas (only without the claymations stealing Sandy Claws). Why we waited 13.5 years for Jamie and I to finally merge our holidays is unknown to relationship scholars, but we did. And I got a taste of the 5a.m. magic of hearing a rustling downstairs while nestled in my bed.
They will tell you I tried to catch Santa Clause, but in truth I was also parched at 5a.m. and needed a cup of water. I was in the beginning stages of coming down with your average, run-of-the-mill, punch-to-to-gut common cold, and was thirsty. I remember seeing the lights from the living room, hearing a shuffling sound and the crackling of the fire. Before I could run upstairs (not out of guilt - remember, I was not there to catch anyone), Mamma Perin came into the kitchen. It was sweet to hug her and say “Merry Christmas” at such an innocent, and may I stress innocent, hour. Then she belted “Everyone wake up!” and I scampered upstairs to “wake” up beside my wife as I had promised.
Their stamina for waking up early and unwrapping presents until noon was difficult for a novice like me (remember also I was on the precipice of sickness - I had an excuse), and so I napped with Lemon on the couch. We then went to see the Perin side Family Christmas, and I got to play Blood and Guts with true professionals. Once evening came, we opened our stockings and looked upon our morning loot with childlike awe. Lemon and I fell asleep to the warmth emitting from the yule logs, as Jamie and Jacque took on Jane and Jim in Euchre. It was a beautiful end to our first Christmas together.
