Christmas Eve in Indianapolis (2018)

December 24, 2018

Spent the day hanging out at my sister’s house. L to R it’s Jasmine, Koa, Leila, and Jahnu.

I ran a few errands in the morning, and got back in time to join a game of Risk.

We played a modified version more gearded towards beginners. There’s a new system that involves trading in cards with stars, which seemed like it helped progress the game along a bit faster.

For our second game, my sister joined us (though she was playing and wrapping/making gifts at the same time). After the first game (which I should mention I won), everyone else became convinced that the key to victory was Australia. So there were some early skirmishes here for control.

Jahnu eventually took over and, as the odds go, got the upperhand and eventually won.

While Stacey and Shane and the kids went to visit family in Gas City, Liz and I got to have a quiet night at home with my mom and dad. We picked up food from the nearby Chinese restaurant, and my mom brought over some dumplings she had made earlier in the day.

This has fast become our holiday tradition, and gave us a nice bit of tiem to just sit and visit a bit. With all the travel and things to do and places to be, this gave us a nice chance to spend some quality time together.

Later in the evening, we headed to the south side to attend the midnight service at St. John’s.

We all used to attend this service with my grandma. And last year, it was just me and my dad.

This year, our second year without her, my dad wanted to continue the tradition and attend. While Stacey and Shane weren’t able to get back in time, Liz and I were able to go with my mom and dad, and were also joined by my Uncle Benny.

Liz, with her boots, ready at the drop of a hat to participate in any Nativity scene that might need some background animals.

Candle service, close to midnight. The lights go dim, and everyone sings “Silent Night.”

There’s a part of me that wishes I could record this moment each year, as it’s quite lovely. The whole room darkens, and the candles flicker their light against the walls… and everyone sings softly, as we near the midnight hour.

It seems wrong to sully the moment with video recording. But I do wish there was some way to capture and share the moment.

Group photo by the Christmas tree.

Back home, close to 1AM, and some industrious kids have already sorted out the gifts by name. Tomorrow can’t come soon enough! Though I guess, given the hour, tomorrow is already here.