Close to Nowhere

• By the time you’re reading this, Christmas will be over. Christmas on a Tuesday might not be the best day for some, particularly the community newspaper staff.

Thanks to our extended family, this year we celebrated Christmas on Sunday. And due to what remains of my health, I wasn’t able to cook. Fortunately, daughter Dana can cook. But wait, she’s working, so she wasn’t able to cook. Son Kris is learning to cook, taking care of me. His specialties are grilled cheese and tomato soup or scrambled eggs. He’s just not up to turkey and dressing yet.

My granddaughters can cook. They’ve come a long way since marrying and learning to feed husbands.

So what happens when you text them and ask what day to gather to celebrate Christmas and what do they want to cook?

Chinese food happens. On Sunday instead of Tuesday. And speaking as this year’s invalid, Chinese was a fantastic idea!

• I understand that a lot of people eat something other than turkey and dressing for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. We’ve always added ham at Christmas and gone traditional.

My friend Melody and her family always have steak. They don’t enjoy turkey and dressing, and steak is special so that’s what they love.

My niece Sister, her former husband Johnny and their children always went to his parents’ house for Thanksgiving. His parents didn’t care for turkey, so they usually had fish.

I guess my nephews were almost teenagers and they, along with their sister, had never had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Blake, the oldest, frequently complained that he’d never even seen a Thanksgiving turkey.

So, one year, Johnny and I planned a surprise. That year, for Thanksgiving, he was going to just cruise past the exit to his parents’ house and come to our house. Of course, we couldn’t keep it secret, but that year Blake got his traditional Thanksgiving dinner. And I’m really not bragging when I say they all loved it. We’ll probably never top that dinner.

• Christmas and Thanksgiving are traditionally family time. This year, after my terrible bout with illness, I was so grateful to be able to celebrate Christmas with my family.

And you know what? I love Chinese food!