Friday, December 17, 2010

Day 341 - Packed and Ready

Well, the truth is that I am 95 percent packed. Everything is loaded on the Envoy except my clothes and the cooler. I’ll load those up tomorrow morning. I’ve packed all my coffee, so I’ll have to go the Starbucks early in the morning to get my coffee. Then I will have to get ready to go to my sister Laura’s for our family Christmas. I hope that Dad is strong enough to make it. It w ill be fun seeing everybody and spending some time together. Then from there I will start the drive to Hilton Head. I am guessing that it will take about six hours from Laura’s house. So, if I leave around 2 it should ge me there about 8. Then I will unpack. That will probably take a couple of hours. Lisa and her family should be coming in around 1AM. I guess it will be a short night. Well, that’sthe plan right now. Jennnifer and her family should arrive late Sunday.

Today was busy. I got up and started getting things together. I left early to do a few things and then went to the Chiropractor at 12. After some more running around I got back home about 2PM. It was sunny and about 48 degrees, so I figured that I had beter get a ride in on the Harley if I was ghing to ride before I left. I wanted to crank it up and ride it just to keep the batter charged. Well, it started fairly easly and I let it warm up for almost 10 minutes. I had my leather jacket on and my heavy gloves. As I started the ride I realized that I was still going to be cold. Myhands were fine, the gloves worked good. The jacket worked good too. I wasn’t cold where it protected me. But I was cold, very cold. The jeans that I was wearing were not enough protection in the cold. I was riding on the back roads and not going very fast, but my legs were very cold. Well, I only had time for a short ride anyway, but it was fun to get out and clear my head.

I am getting excited about seeing everybody together. I’m sure it all won’t go smoothly, it never does. The key is to get the Granddaughters playing together. If they can get connected, the family will stay connected. It’s a generational thing. I can see it in my generation. When mom died, Julia picked up the mantle of having everyone together. Now, Laura and Kay are sort of sharing it, but when Dad dies I hope that it will continue. It’s the same with me. When I die, I hope that the girls are so close that thy will be willing to sacrafice to see each other and get together. I could have gone to both places like we did last year, but if we are going to remain a family; we have to get together, at least once a year. I’m learning more and more that being together as a family is important. So, this week is a sacrifice for all of us. It cost me a good deal of money to rent the house. It’s costing Jennifer and Lisa a good deal of money to have someone sit the dogs plus they have a long drive. Is this the beginning of a tradition, at least for the next few years? I don’t know, I’ll tell you after Christmas. But I do know that we all need to be together right now, and by Sunday night we will be.

So, here I am, writing my last blog of the year sitting by my fire in the rocker. The rest will be written in Hilton Head. It should be a fun time.

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