Chistmas in August

I'm the kind of person that when I find something I like, I really like it...sometimes bordering on obsession (what? me? obsessive? no way!). That being said, I am really big on traditions and don't like it when my traditions get changed. For many years, Christmas was my most favourite time of the year. Christmas at my Grandma and Grandpa Waldner's house in Saskatoon meant a beautiful tree, we went out for Christmas Eve supper and then off to church. Back at Grandma's house, it was time for board games and snacks. As a youngster, of course Christmas meant lots of presents, but as I grew into my teens, Christmas shifted away from the gifts and suddenly I was more focused on the family time together.

Over the years, my family has spread out across the country and across the world. The last Christmas that we were all together was back in 2000. Since then, Christmas just hasn't held the same special "je ne sais quois" or however you spell that. Instead, I now look forward to the one week in August when my whole family is together. My sister and her boys come home from Germany, my aunts and uncles come back from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and my brother comes back from B.C. Over the past few years, I have done whatever I have needed to ensure that I am up at the lake for that time. I have quit a few jobs (some of them on the spot) when I realized I wouldn't be able to get the time off.

The lake is my haven so it's a double bonus that my whole family is up there with me. I love getting up early (well, before lunch anyways) and heading down to the dock for swimming and skiing. Then it's back up to the cabin for lunch and maybe a nap or just reading some Herman comics. Later, it's back down to the dock until supper time. Suppers are always spectacular and you have to roll most of us away from the table! After supper, I do whatever I have to to get out of having to do the dishes...normally I just take off and hide in the bushes or in the outhouse until I think dishes are just about done and then I'll come back into the cabin and sorrowfully exclaim, "Oh, you guys! I was going to do the dishes!" After supper, it's either a campfire or else board games. Then, it's off to sleep in my most favourite bed in the world...it's a single bed that's almost too short for me and the springs are all shot so it kind of curls up on either side of me - total bliss! One week and counting...


And so it "merrily" goes...