I won't say I was excited for Christmas this year, but I was genuinely looking forward to it - the anticipation was there. And then along came a Grinch .. looking (and sounding) exactly like my sister. Let me explain.
On Wednesday night I received a call from my cousin Shannon. Having not spoken in a while, the pleasantries must be observed. Opening remarks dispensed with, he asked me if I had Erin's number, since he had misplaced it. I said sure, and grabbed my blackberry to read it off. He was saying that Erin had invited him and my Uncle Syd up for Christmas Eve. Then he asked what time we would be there. Since I don't hear from my sister unless she wants something (refer back to last post ..), We hadn't been invited - this was something she was doing on her own. Talk about an awkward moment on the phone ..! He didn't know what to say, as I didn't. We changed the subject and finally hung up about an hour later.
Not long after that - the phone rang. The voice on the other end identified herself as the "missing sibling". I came right out and asked her what she wanted. She was asking about dinner plans, since she hadn't heard anything. We all go to my sister-in-laws for dinner, since we no longer have the room to host it. It's a standing tradition. I told her this and she said that since she hadn't heard anything from anyone, she had made other plans. She was having dinner with the friends who's basement suite she's renting. Oh, and she was signing Mom out of the Home on Christmas Eve, to stay over for dinner, and taking her back on Boxing Day. We were welcome to come over and see her if we wanted to.
Does this sound like a brush-off or what?
I was soooooo looking forward to my Mom coming over. I was planning on going to Midnight Mass (even though i'm not Catholic - I enjoy this service every year). I was putting the final touches on my pies for dinner. (I always make lemon meringue with extra meringue because Mom likes them that way). This just took the wind out of my sails. I didn't even have fun at work on Christmas Eve like I usually do, I just couldn't get into it.
So I got to spend my first Christmas without my Mom. I tried to call my sister so I could at least wish my Mom a Merry Christmas, but her phone kept going to voicemail. We made the best of the day we could - dinner was fantastic ! The kids had a good time, they are pretty resilient I'm coming to realize, and maybe we'll get to see Mom on Saturday. As for the "missing sibling", she can go right being missing. I'm not going to be looking for her anytime soon.
Moooooooooooooo !
