Saturday, December 27, 2008

Best of...John Tyson's first Christmas

Dear John Tyson,
This is the story of your first Christmas...
On the 23rd of December you and your parents spent the morning packing up and getting ready to go. Strangely, the luggage, gifts, and baby things did NOT take up the entire car. In fact, there was a whole entire car seat for your traveling companion, Matthew. We headed off to Raleigh at about 10am. Our first stop was the Dickens' house. Arriving 30 minutes later than planned, we exchanged gifts with Miss Carolyn and Mr. Kent and hugged Little Kent's neck (we were surprised to see him there because he is spending a school year in Europe studying earth quake engineering, but he was in town for the holidays). Miss Carolyn showed us her NC State Fair Blue ribbon winning photograph of the fair piglets and you played with the cat toys as if they were your own. After about an hour, we headed to Granny and B.Bob's house (Jeanie and Bob). On our way, we called your Uncle Jackson who somehow had locked himself onto the back porch of his apartment and couldn't get off, in or out. So, we headed over to his place and let him in before actually leaving for Granny and B.Bob's. Arriving 30 minutes later than planned, we visited, ate dinner, and met the new doberman pincher, Mia. After our visit, we headed to Papa Jerry and Ginnie Marcy's house (my dad and Martha) to go to bed.

Ginnie and Papa were unusually happy and pleasant. We woke up the next day intending to rest and relax. Papa and Ginnie started to get nervous that we were bored, so they worked out a plan to keep us occupied. Papa and Dad went to play tennis and you, mom, and Ginnie took a "necessary" trip to Target. (We didn't need anything and I hate shopping at places like that, but we just had to because we needed milk. Never mind that Target is 40 minutes away and there's a Foodlion 10 minutes away) That night, we ate a nice dinner and the adults exchanged gifts. Christmas morning, we woke up, ate french toast for breakfast, and opened your presents. Uncle Jackson's gift was the best of all. He built you a toy wagon and some wooden blocks.

Next, we drove to Zebulon again. After arriving 30 minutes later that planned, we opened gifts and quickly rushed back into the cars so that we could get to Brighton Gardens to see Nana. After arriving 30 minutes later than planned, we visited with Nana and Betsy and her family. Nana opened her gifts while you played with the humongous cat and daddy sneezed the whole time. Nana loved looking at you and told everyone she loved you and thought you were cute. We sang carols and said goodbye to Nana after 45 minutes.

Then, we drove to Betsy's house. We ate a small lunch, visted, and exchanged gifts. You really liked your wooden bath boat your received from John, Valarie, and Compton. Compton kept on talking about you. He was happy to see another kid at the family gathering. The clock quickly ticked on to 4pm and we had to say goodbye.

Then, we drove to Grammy and Pops' house. Arriving 30 minutes later than planned, Auntie M, Grammy, and Pops were happy to greet us at the door. Your dad went straight to the bathroom where he proceeded to throw up and have the squirts every five minutes for 5 hours straight. While daddy was suffering, the rest of us ate soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, exchanged gifts, and visited. You really liked your wooden blocks that Auntie M gave you. Momma really liked her shoes and smelly stuff and Grammy and Pops really liked the pictures they received of you.

After a while, Grammy and Momma started to get worried about your dad so Grammy called the healthcare hotline: Aunt Sally. After talking to Aunt Sally, we all decided that daddy needed to go to the Emergency room. So, Momma and Daddy left you at Grammy and Pops' house and headed to the Wake Med facility in Apex. Daddy was dehydrated, so they hooked daddy up to an IV and gave him nausea and pain medication. The doctor said there was no way to tell if it was food poisoning or a virus, so the only thing to do was to treat the symptoms and suffer through it. After the first hour of being in the Emergency room, Momma started to throw up and after about 2 hours, Daddy started to feel better, so we went home.

On the way home (at 2am in Apex), two cops decided to pull Momma and Daddy over. The car's headlight was out. After running the tag numbers and making sure there were not warrants out on Momma, the cop let us go on home. That night, both Momma and Daddy suffered terribly.

The next day, everyone cancelled their plans to visit with Grandaddies Jarrell and Harris. You played all day with Grammy, Pops, and Auntie M while Momma and Daddy laid on the couches and slept all day. That night, Daddy cancelled the reservation at the bed and breakfast that he had made for Momma and Daddy's anniversary.

And today, the 27th, Grammy, Pops, and Auntie M are in Reidsville visiting with the family while Momma and Daddy are resting at 2308 Bull Run Drive and you are galavanting around town with Grannie and B.Bob. Tomorrow, you'll go to Aversboro Road Baptist church with your Aunt and Granparents while your parents play hookie and then we'll all go home, most likely 30 minutes later than planned, and unpack, clean up, and get ready for the week ahead.

And that's the story of your first Christmas ever.

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