Merry Christmas!
It's been so long since I've written in this, I forgot how to log into my account! Whoops.
I had a very fulfilling Christmas, full of family, traditions and more family. Hopefully I'll be adding some friends to that mixture soon.
Christmas Eve we went to church in the early evening, then back to Mom's for her delicious steak dinner. It's sort of funny how we have the exact same thing every year, but isn't that what traditions are all about? After filling our tummies, we (Mom, Curt, Andy and I) gathered 'round the tree for annual pictures and gift opening. My friends make fun of me for having a Christmas much like the one we had when we were kids (gifts coming out of our ears). It's probably true. I'm assuming Mom enjoys this as she was done with her gift shopping about a month before Christmas. The evening was great- everyone liked their gifts. Even though it felt like we were moving quickly, I didn't roll into my driveway until midnight!
Christmas Day I swung over to Andy's and we headed to Northfield for Christmas with Dad, Monica, etc. This year, rather than give us several gifts, Dad and Monica decided to plan a weekend up north for all of us. After they presented us with that gift, we hopped on the internet, chose a place and booked it for a weekend in January. All 11 of us will head up to Grand Superior Lodge in Two Harbors for a mini family vacation. It's been at least 10 years since all of us have gone away together, so it should be a fun time.
Eventually, Andy and I zipped over to the farm, making it there just in time for Christmas caroling- one of Grandma's favorite Christmas activities. Shortly after that, the whole bunch of us gathered in the living room for gift opening. There's a scientific process of gift opening at the Korum Farm. First, we pass out all of the gifts (everyone has at least 2 gifts- one from Grandma and Grandpa, the other from whoever drew our name). Then, the youngest grandchild starts the gift opening and we make our way up through the grandchildren, aunts/uncles and eventually Grandma and Grandpa. With 34 people to open gifts, this process takes over 3 hours.
When we were kids, we'd open our gifts and shortly thereafter head down to the basement to play with whatever toys we'd received. Now, I actually enjoy watching each person open their presents, so I found a spot right in front of the tree, sat back and observed. In doing so, I heard most questions and answers at least twice- "who's turn is it after Teresa?" "who had Anita's name?" etc. There was just enough constant noise in the room, I'm pretty sure I could have fallen asleep to the sounds of gift opening, laughter and conversation.
After all the presents were opened, out came the second round of food - salami and crackers, chicken salad, chips and cookies. If we weren't full before that, we certainly left with a full tummy. Andy and I left shortly before 9pm.
For the first time, as we drove past Loretta Stanton's farm (Monica's mom), Andy and I decided to stop by to wish her a Merry Christmas. Her health has been slowly deteriorating over the years, and has picked up speed in the past several months. I'm so glad we stopped. There were a few people still there, including Dad and Monica. If you think the Korum family is large, you should see the Stantons. They don't have one big gathering for Christmas as there would not be room for everyone in the little farm house. Instead, there's more of an open house throughout the day, people stopping in for an hour or two. I've thought about stopping every single year, but for whatever reason have never done it. Even though she may not remember tomorrow that we were there, it was so good to see Loretta on Christmas.
Overall, a wonderful Christmas. This year I'm particularly thankful for my grandparents and their health and for my family. Each day/year/holiday season spent with family is a blessing.
Merry Christmas,
Jill
