Christmas Eve-Morning to Dinnertime

On a morning in which we could have slept in, we woke up at our usual time. We knew we wanted to get to the bank and the store before heading to Cincinnati to spend the evening with my family.

We got ready, putting on layers: I wore two t-shirts, three pair of socks, a pair of sweatpants, a pair of jeans, a button-down shirt, and a sweatshirt. Then I put my coat, scarf, and Santa hat, and boots on.

I took Jake outside to do his business. He's still confused, wondering what happened to his smells and usual peeing posts.

I went to our car. I tried the doors, but they were frozen shut. Ironically, we'd left the de-icing solution inside the car last night. I bumped the doors with my hips to no avail. Then I, Mr. Smartypants, kicked the door. As I did that, the rest of my body decided to land in the snow. I lay there for a little while before finally deciding to get back up.

Fortunately, Jennie later came outside and got the car started.

As we began to run our errands, it became obvious how blessed we were. We drove to the temp agency where I picked up my paycheck at 12:15 PM, even though the office manager said they had closed at 12 PM for the holiday.

We drove to the credit union, and I got in a line of 30 people at 12:30 PM, noticing a sign stating that they were going to be open until 1 PM. While in line I poked fun at the situation.

"Is this the line for the concert tickets?" I asked out loud to those around me. "No? Then maybe it's for the ferris wheel. Gee, I hope I'm tall enough to ride it."

Those next to me looked as though I was nuts, but I could tell I'd helped alleviate the tension. After all, the credit union was closed the day before because of the storm, and, all of us were in line for our Christmas money.

I thanked the teller for working on Christmas Eve and deposited my check. As I walked out, I told those in line, "They said I'm not tall enough to ride the ferris wheel. Darn it."

When we got home, there was a message from my uncle in Cincinnati. He'd been out shovelling for 4 hours, trying to make room for company that would show up at 6:30 PM. Snow plows had not been down their street. With below zero weather forecasted for that evening, he decided to postpone the get-together.

We suddenly had to make dinner plans on our own. Jennie, Keisha, and I got back in the car and drove to Golden Corral, a restaurant that has an all-you-can-eat buffet. We arrived at 3:25 PM, which was good, because they stopped taking new customers at 4 PM. We thus had plenty of time to eat, drink, and be merry.