Can it be done in a single post?

OG Erichsen-Websters (all except Luke)

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It's 8:09 a.m. on New Year's Eve, and here I sit in my bed. I've been awake for over an hour, leisurely scrolling various websites, sipping an ice-cold Diet Coke that I pulled from my new, tiny, home-office fridge that Amanda gave me for Christmas. Look how cute it is:

This year, my present to all my kids (except Luke, who lives in Maryland and couldn't come) was a trip to Disneyland! We girls talked about this over a year ago, just before Christmas 2021. The conversation went something like this:

Shulamith: We should go on a trip for Christmas some year, instead of doing presents.

Amanda: Yes! Maybe next year?

Me: That would be super fun, but I'd really miss shopping for presents for my kids; it's one of the happiest things I do all year.

Shulamith and Amanda: That's true, but it's just one year. And it would be so, so fun.

Me: Okay! Where should we go?

The discussion began. We considered several possibilities and ultimately settled on Disneyland. We knew Eli would be excited. We knew Mathew and Isaiah would NOT. We figured Gerald and Seth would be fairly "meh" about it, happy to go, though not super thrilled. Based on the different reactions when we revealed our plan, I'd say we were right:

Mathew: This might be the worst idea you and your mom have ever dreamed up.

Isaiah: Disneyland? Super cringe.

We lovingly informed both of them that attendance was required. They lovingly agreed. 

Typically I would divide a post like this into shorter, more specific installments, but I need (want?) all the Christmas 2022 stuff to be in my 2022 printed blog book, so I must finish it today. Hence....one post! Maybe I'll try dividing it into sections. 

I. Preparation and Travel

Even with fewer presents, moving Christmas to a different state is challenging. The adults all drew names, so everyone would have one gift to open Christmas morning. Then Shulamith bought her kids a few presents, and we grabbed a few for Eli's baby Jane, and those, plus the eight adult gifts, had to be transported to Cali. Most of us were flying, but fortunately, Shulamith and her family decided to drive. We stuffed three large suitcases stuffed with presents into her van.

II. Christmas morning in the Airbnb

It for sure did not feel like Christmas. There was no tree or decorations. No Christmas music played in the background, and there were barely any gifts. But some traditions followed us even to Cali, and one of those is matching Christmas jammies. Mathew's amazing photography skills captured this photo of everyone.

We spent the day relaxing and eating way too much delicious, unhealthy food, including our annual Christmas cookies. Two of those cookie recipes brought back sweet memories. Gerald's mom used to bake gingerbread cookies every year at Christmas. She even cut them out in the form of actual people and used cinnamon candies for the eyes and nose. We were not so fancy (shocking) and just made ours round. They tasted good but not as good as Violet's. I wonder if she baked some this year? Vi? When we lived in Mt. Vernon, my friend Joanne baked shortbread cookies every year and put candied cherries in the middle of each. She gave plates full of these delectable treats to everyone she knew! Again, mine were good but not quite as good as Joanne's.

After eating all this "bad" food, Shulamith, Isaiah, and I went on a long walk around the neighborhood. It was 80 degrees, and we were warm in our t-shirts, a welcomed respite from the bitter Utah cold.

III. Rides

The three days following Christmas we spent in the parks. At one point this conversation occurred between Seth and me:

Seth: Why do you even like it here? You hate Disney movie and never watch them. You don't know any of the Disney characters, and you don't care to know them. Tell me again why you come here?

Me: Two words: The Rides.

It's true that I hate kids' movies, especially Disney, and never watch them. (Just ask any of my kids, who will be happy to lament the saga of growing up in a home with no Disney movies and trying to explain to their friends why they've never see any). I actually dislike all animation....those unrealistic characters with gigantic, hugely-disproportionate eyes. Eeek. Creeps me out.

But I won't lie; I am a ride junkie. I love all rides, the faster and spinnier the better! Fave ride in Disneyland: Space Mountain. In California Adventure: Incredicoaster. We spent three fast and furious days riding nonstop, with barely any lines to wait in, thanks in part to Swen's T1 Diabetes, which qualified him for a disability pass. So many things could go wrong for a person with T1 stuck in long lines for long periods of time: sugar lows, pump malfunctions, glucose monitor failures, among others. The pass made it possible for six people, including Swen, to access the "lightning lanes," rather than waiting in standby lines. T1 Diabetes is a crappy disease, and there is not much good I can say about it, but this pass was one cool perk. 

IV: Random photos from our trip!

Walking into the park the first day!

Matt, Theodore, and Swen!

Shulamith's two younger kids: Theodore and Kennedy

Shulamith and Matt and kids

Eli, Amanda, and Jane

Kennedy and I

Shulamith and I, with Theodore, on our one rainy day

Matt, Kennedy and I (back row); Shulamith, Theodore, and Swen (front row)

Front to back: Shulamith, Kennedy, Swen, Theodore, me

Amanda, Eli, and Jane

Eli, Jane, and Isaiah

Strolling Downtown Disney

Three of the four cutest, most amazing sons: Seth, Isaiah, Eli

Front to back: Shulamith, me, Seth, Gerald (masked), Isaiah (glasses), Eli (partly hidden) Jane, and Amanda

Swen, totally bored by the parade we were were watching

Seth and Gerald, equally bored by the parade

Shulamith, excited to show Theodore the parade!

Jane, wearing Kennedy's mouse ears

Can it be done in a single post? Barely!

Happy New Year, everyone! May 2023 be everything you desire.

Poetically full circle

As I sat in the audience late Saturday afternoon and watched the Sugar Plum Fairy do pique turns across the stage and leap into the arms of the prince, I glanced down at my phone. It was the fourth performance of The Nutcracker I'd watched that weekend, so I went ahead and opened the new message: "Merleen passed away," a friend reported. "She was 97."

When I was four years old, my mom enrolled me in a ballet class at Merleen Stites Studio of Dance in my hometown of Portland, Oregon. Turns out....I loved it! I continued to take ballet classes, and eventually tap and jazz, for the next 12 years under the tutelage of Merleen, who became a second mother to me and, as I grew to adulthood, one of my dearest friends. We kept in touch through the years, so she was overjoyed when I had a daughter who also liked to dance.

Shulamith began dance lessons at age four as well and continued almost as long as I did. Her studio in Mt. Vernon, Washington produced and performed The Nutcracker each year at Christmastime, and she got to fill several roles over the years: first a young child, and later a guest of Clara's at the party; then a mouse, a soldier, and eventually a Chinese dancer on pointe! Two of those years, Gerald and I also participated, assuming the roles of grown-up guests in the opening party scene. Even Isaiah was persuaded to join us one year as a young boy at the party. That year, The Nutcracker felt like a family event and remains one of my most favorite memories.

This past weekend, Shulamith's daughter Kennedy performed in her dance company's production of The Nutcracker. Kennedy was part of four different dances, including Ribbon Candy; Taffy, where she appeared from under Mother Ginger's giant hoop skirt; and an Angel protecting Clara. But her favorite role (and ours!) was the Black Sheep, where she got to "accidentally" knock over all the White Sheep and also dance a short solo and a duet with the Shepherdess. 

The rehearsal schedule for all these dances the past three months was grueling for an 8-year-old, but Kennedy never once complained. She seemed to love every second of it; the dance community has become her happy place, as it was for both Shulamith and me once upon a time. She danced beautifully in all four performances, taking such care with her form, making sure her feet, arms, and head positions were correct at all times. Congrats, Kennedy, on a stellar first Nutcracker.

There is something poetically full circle about learning of my lovely Merleen's passing as I watched Kennedy perform. My best guess is Merleen was watching Kennedy too, as she danced in Heaven with her beloved Stan, who left earth over 20 years ago. I'm grateful for the knowledge that I, too, will dance with my friend again one day, and for the Savior who makes that possible.