Christmas Eve in Indianapolis

December 24, 2014

On the 24th, I was up with Jasmine and Jahnu watching cartoons. Stacey was out doing some last minute shopping, and both Liz and Shane were still sleeping. There was a tremendous crash outside, and the three of us ran to the window – and spotted a huge limb had fallen down.

It was loud enough that I was surprised everyone else didn’t wake up. I went outside and managed to get the cable wire untangled from the branch. But beyond that, everything else seemed ok (Shane climbed a ladder later in the day, and said the roof seemed unscathed).

Jasmine and Jahnu, focused on their electronic devices. What is with kids these days, and how they seem to be so obsessed with technology and gadgets?

Incidentally, that would be my Amazon Echo in the middle of the table.

Late morning, watching “White Christmas.” Again.

On Christmas Eve, our tradition is to accompany Grandma Phoebe and attend the midnight service at St. John’s. Jasmine and Jahnu discovered that the Bible in their pew was the one that had a note, signifying that it was from my grandmother in dedication to my grandfather.

I didn’t feel too comfortable taking photos in the church, but snapped this one note. My grandma sometimes has trouble recognizing faces (I wasn’t sure if she recognized me or not tonight). My Uncle Benny told me that she’s really not able to hear anymore, but can still speak. And she is still able to read Chinese (though no longer able or willing to read English).

So I asked my Dad to write “Merry Christmas” in Chinese on an envelope. On saying goodbye, I showed this to my grandma – and I think she understood.

We arrived home pretty late (around 1AM), and the kids were allowed to open just one gift. By the time they got Santa’s cookie and milk set up, it was almost 1:30 AM. The adults were still up and talking for a bit longer, with Liz and I hitting the sack around 2AM.