The week before Christmas Eve, I let the parents of all my grands know presents would be late. It had been a most difficult fourth quarter at work, compounded by an out-of-state funeral and then Lizard's total knee replacement. I (hilariously) thought I'd be able to finish a quilt each day I was off work after the surgery.
Please pardon me while I laugh my head off yet again...
I hated missing the deadline, and yet, I remember being a kid and loving stretching out Christmas as long as possible. I also remembered the first year I got to make something for grandkids. Adoption can sometimes complicate the planning aspect of giving, but it also adds a spice of adventure you don't ever experience when you know everyone from birth in advance.
I found out four days ahead of our first meeting, which had been scheduled right after Christmas, that four gifts would not be enough. I had four days to make 12 more hats, plus an extra or two because I didn't know for sure how many girls, how many boys or even what ages.
Those 16 kids didn't care about the date of their gift at all. Their biggest joy, I think, was seeing each other, and their second biggest joy was a tie between McDonald's Playland and the park across the street. Hats made being outdoors on a chilly day more bearable, and some of the younger kids really loved the bear ears I put on some of the hats. Gifts, however, were not the highlight of one of the most memorable events of my life.
I was a day or so late in giving (not in finishing) the second Christmas, too. The day or two after Christmas was the only day we could get almost everyone together. (One little family was missing at the annual gift giving that year, and those presents were mailed in time.) The kids were more excited about new grandparents that year because by then, they knew us a little better. They'd been just a tad apprehensive the first year. Now, I think they might actually look forward to our gift parties as much as I do. It's such an exciting event and getting better every single year!
Surgery threw another complication into the late 2019 event. Lizard wasn't up to road trips when I finished the gifts, so I had to mail them. I'm hoping to see one of the kiddos mutton bustin' during the National Western Stock Show, and half or all of the grandkids at an upcoming Mammoth game when two granddaughters will be dancing with the Wild Bunch cheerleaders.
Now that grandkid Christmas presents are done, I have to finish up new nephew Colin's quilt and quilts for two new nieces due any day now. Then perhaps I can sew something for me.
Linking up with Alycia Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.
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