December has certainly been filled with its share of highs and lows — weather-ly and figuratively. (I keep trying to remind myself that a few months ago I was begging for cold, gray days because I’m already over it, and it’s really just started!)
As usual, this month has been a busy one. Last week was a full one in particular, filled with it’s own highs and lows.
Highs: We had some out-of-state friends come stay with us while house-hunting (yay!); we got to see Santa; I co-led E.V.’s preschool cooking class; Great Grandma Vance visited for the weekend; the girls talked jewelry, baked cookies with GGV (The Queen of Baking), and shopped for Christmas toys; my brother and sister-in-law were also in town and got to spend some time with us East-coasters.
Lows: The reason my family was in town was for my mother’s non-funeral. She specified that she in lieu of a traditional funeral, we were all to gather at her favorite restaurant for a big family dinner. I know what she envisioned: Everyone who loved her crowded around a table, stuffing their faces with her favorite Italian food, laughing and crying as they boisterously shared stories about “the ol’ lady.” Although her vision didn’t come to full fruition, what I can say is that we honored her wishes, that some people held it together and some did not, and that hopefully it gave us all a small window of closure to get us through this first holiday season without her.
Cooking with Emma Vance’s class (with Cricket as a guest speaker, haha)…
Spending time with Great Grandma Vance…
