Sunday December 24 2023

 

Waking up pretty early but feeling rested in my childhood bed at dad’s house.

 

Having some breakfast: Hard Boiled Eggs with a Peanut Butter English Muffin and Tea.

 

Dad drives us to the cemeteries where my grandma and granddaddy Smith are buried. Pansy and Peter link up with us there. We replace the flowers and share memories, good and bad.

 

 

A visit to Carolina is not complete without a visit to a Piggly Wiggly.

 

It’s such a beautiful day – definitely doesn’t feel like Christmas Eve. We strap on good shoes and, with basketball in tote take, a walk, dad, Patty, and I, on the Reedy Branch Greenway. This is a nice 3 mile paved trail right behind Wayne Community College and the hospital. Encountering friendly dogs and a babbling brook at the end.

 

 

Back at the house. Dad fires up the grill while Patty and I fix up the potatoes and asparagus.

...

I jam on the guitar out on the porch while Patty FaceTimes her family in Honduras. Singing Feliz Navidad and other household favorites. Dad and I work a number on a couple bottles of wine. I like seeing him have a good time though – I’m really enjoying this time spent with him.

 

Sitting at the table enjoying the fire cooked steaks with asparagus, potatoes, and more wine. We get into it about the family past and it seems whenever wine gets in my dad’s system he really opens up with his emotions about the lack of a father figure in his life growing up and how much he misses his mother. Once again, I’m seeing him cry. I always make sure that he knows how good of a father he was and is to me.

 

Cleaning up and chilling in the living room. Of course movies like Elf and Christmas Vacation run endlessly on the TV.