~*~ jolly holidays ~*~

Where to begin? Holy moly.

Software went live December 1. On time, on budget, and kickin' ass. My days have gotten shorter (a little) and there have been a couple days a week I actually leave work at 530. Sweet. Score 1, Miss B.

Went to see my son in western Kentucky Saturday. Love that 6 hour drive. Actually, it was a pretty nice trip. Cruisin' along, lookin' fly in the Liberty, stopping to pee every 2 hours because I'M FRICKIN' OLD. And the blood pressure medicine kicks in... however, as always, there are fun stories from the road. Like... pulling off to grab a bite to eat and taking 20 minutes to get from the off-ramp to the FAST-FOOD place HALF a MILE down the road. To find that I'm in a not-so-good neighborhood. To having the very polite young man at the window ask me to please back up behind the marker pole because they just got a huge order and don't want to throw off their timer because I'm sitting there waiting. Sure, buddy, no problem. Just WAVE to me through the window when you want me to pull up to get my FOOD. Dork.

Fun times at the boy's. We went to the roadhouse for steaks, did a little shopping, and back to his house to open gifts. Talked a lot. He quizzed me about the sisters' boyfriends - are they alright enough for the girls to be hanging out with, or should he beat them up? *smile* The girls got a chuckle out of that one!

Back to the house the next morning... it really IS an endless trip. But the weather was pleasant; the drive was uneventful, and I can't remember the last time I travelled for relaxation.

Fast-forward to Christmas Eve. Had to leave work mid-morning to !finally! get my MRI done on my knee. (Results on Monday) Back to work to finish out a few things, then on to the house to clean and cook and not finish wrapping presents because a couple of children of mine (who shall remain nameless but you KNOW who you are) did not call as they were supposed to before showing up. So we talked and laughed and snacked and exchanged gifts and watched "It's a Wonderful Life" and passed out. It was a great night. I am blessed with great kids.

Christmas Day was quiet; pleasant. Watched old movies with Dad, who is fighting a cold. He was down for a couple days - it worries me to see him tire so easily. I remember him with much more vigor. *sigh* Talked to mom, my brother and his wife, and my favorite niece. The kids were off to other celebrations this day so the house was all mine. Fabulous!

The day after - ugh - back to the office. The mood was fairly festive, but I was ready to get out of there and enjoy my weekend. A pleasant surprise when I arrived home - my younger daughter and her fella were there relaxing. They watched a couple movies and came out while I was surfing the web, looking for certain old movies.

Pickle: "Whatcha doin?"
Me: "Surfin'... why?"
Pickle's fella: "We have somethin' to tell ya..."
Me (noncommitally, without turning around) "Tell me, or ask me?"
Pickle's fella: "Kinda both."

I slowly turn around in my chair, face them, watch as they stand there draped around each other fidgeting.

*practiced impassive mom look* "K."
Pickle: "Well, Squid has asked me to marry him.... and I have accepted."

*blink*
"Hmm. And after I told everyone at work no worries, no ring, just a blackberry phone for Christmas."

Pickle giggles. "Sorry mom."

~and the inquisition begins~

"When?"
At Squid's parent's Christmas celebration. (He dropped the ring; he was nervous.)

"Have you told your grandparents?"
Not yet, you were the first one after the parents. We did ask the grandfather's blessing, but they do not know for sure.

Hmmm.

Sister?
No.
*PLEASE let me be there for that one... we know how much she LOVES Squid.*

College?
Still going.
mm hmm.

Navy?
Yep, they still own me for 5 more years.

Would you like to see the ring? (OMG - I didn't even ASK her. I am such a horrible mom.)
Of course.

Beautiful. Round stone with 2 emerald cuts on the side. It had belonged to his great-grandmother; it was his through inheritance. It is extremely sentimental.

Pre-marital counseling? Classes on budgeting and financing? Practical savings?

(I am SUCH a wet rag.)

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Well, then, I'm happy if you're happy.
No you're not.
That is not true; but you're disappointed in my reaction?
A little. I expected it though.
Why?
His side is the emotional, happy side. We're the logical, planner side.

*sigh* i'm really not doing a bang-up job at the mom thing tonight.
I apologize; this is a great moment.

Will you help me plan it?
*blink*

Absolutely. (Like I know what the hell I'm doing.) Buahahahaha. But I shall support her, because if my children have nothing but love and someone with whom they can share happy moments in a not so happy world, who am I to tell them no? They need to know that not all men are their fathers. And Squid has a good start.

So I give her a hug and it's off to bed. Head spinning. She's no longer a child. *bawl*

Up bright and early today... my mom calls. We exchange family news and I fill her in on the news. Oh my. College? Grandparents? (We are so from the same cloth.) I tell her about my not-so-stellar reaction. She assures me it will pass and how cool it is that I get to help with the plans.

Meanwhile, Pickle gets up and comes out, and I pass on the congratulations from grandma. She lights right up and says thanks. So we decide to go to the mall and look around for some books on wedding planning and what to expect. We call her older sister and ask her to meet us for lunch. Of course, it's only proper that we include her in this. :) And the excitement is in the air from there.

So we get there, and Pickle tells Junior to look at her gift from Squid, then proceeds to show her some new shoes he got her. I giggle. Then Pickle tells her to guess what else she got, and Junior says "Let me see it" while grabbing for her hand. And then there were some squeals and hugging and 100 mph jabbering all the way to the cars. Holy cow I'm tired watching them.

So we go to the mall and run into a local store just to look at prom style dresses to get ideas of what type of dress she may want to put on her bridesmaids. The color is royal purple, and he shall be in his dress whites. I cannot believe what passes for homecoming and prom dresses these days. She finds a style she likes and says it would be cool to find a deep purple with a lighter shade of purple inlay. And ten minutes later, we see them. Exactly as described, and amazing. Junior tries one on to see how they look. Pickle is in love with them. (She has already decided on the wedding party.) We find a slightly different style dress for the maid of honor, and Pickle tries it on just to stand next to the other dress and see how they look together. It's perfect. It's amazing. It's difficult to pass up because they were on sale and exactly how she described what she wanted. What the hell. We got them. Junior paid for hers, and I paid for the others'. (They can just pay me for them instead of buying them.) This way they all match, and we have time to alter them if needed. (And of course, the wedding party girls are the same sizes as my girls, so the fit will be great.) They'll be cooler because they're made from lighter material, but they are formal enough for a wedding. Can't fight karma.

So, before I get roped into anything else today, we head on over to the bookstore. We find a pretty comprehensive planner with timelines, and charts, and it's spiral bound with pockets. And there are TWO of them. So we get both of them (so we can be completely coordinated, of course.*grin*) And another "helpful hints" book, and two bridal magazines (enOUGH already!) Then we head to Pizza Hut to grab lunch, and sit around and look at our treasure books and start making plans.

And then it's off to work for the two girls, and off to the house to take something for this raging headache that has sprung... and surf the net and read the books and make notes and plans and jot ideas.

phew

Oh my gawd. I have to lose 80 pounds. I will accept 60.

Tentative date - summer 2010. 1.5 year engagement. Plenty of time to plan. And shop. And get 2 more jobs.

We're sitting at the table at lunch, and it comes up about the fathers and the role they didn't play in the lives of the girls, and I notice an older lady across the way watching and listening and smiling at the excitement.

Pickle says to me that she's sorry that I have to be the one to take on most of the burden of the cost because she knows her dad won't help, and she'll try to make it inexpensive as possible. I glance up to see a thoughtful look on the stranger's face as I tell her, it's not her worry, and we shall do what we need. If we plan for it, and research early enough, we will be able to do whatever she wants. Do I care? No. I didn't have weddings. Every girl wants that special day; I remarked this to Squid on the phone one day. Give her a wedding. Don't let her just elope. She deserves that much. So he loped along, smiling and waiting patiently as we all searched and laughed and looked. He's great. He said at lunch that his hard part was over. I laughed and told him he WOULD be very involved in the whole process if he knew what was going to be good for him.

So. We have the informal formal engagement party on Jan 1 in the evening. Squid ships out on the 3rd. This will be me, her sister and fiancee, his parents/grandparents, her aunt & uncle/grandparents/great grandmother. The grandfather has been good about stuff. The grandmother is going to be a bit more difficult. Maybe I'm just being cynical, but I hope I'm wrong.

And that was my holiday in a nutshell... hope yours was merry if you celebrate, happy if you don't, and we're all looking forward to a bright new year.