Meeting the relatives

Last night late, Pips drove us out to Grandma's.

We'd been supposed to fly out at 8-ish Thursday night. Unfortunately, the hop to Portland got cancelled. The airline shuffled us over to another airline with a direct connection to Detroit, and we arrived only about a half-hour after we were scheduled.

We didn't sleep much, and we lost three hours. So the morning was sleep. At least for me. Belovedest took the opportunity to catch up with their brother before curling up on the air mattress next to me.

There was gaming in the afternoon. I met Pips' wife. Then we made sure our bags were packed for the trip to see my partner's grandmother and ... the rest of the clan.

We got in late. The only one still up was us. So we got packed off to bed.

The bed seems to be a full size mattress. Belovedest is long. I am wide. This was not super super restful, especially with fewer pillows than we wanted. (Next time, there should perhaps be a second checked suitcase for someone, with bedding.)

I was invited to come along with the Sibling Errands, at which point I met Bop (additional sibling). Eldest was off doing a fun 5k. We made a grocery run for Toaster Aunt, then came back to Grandma's.

We returned to the house, and had a late breakfast with the aunt and eldest cousin associated with the house.

Belovedest and I were about to jump in the shower when their mom walked in the room with all the couches where we were planning on Rock Band later. There was much catching up.

After the shower, I braved the main room, and got introduced to a dizzying array of family, including Pops. Apparently Grandma and Grandpa had five kids, and Moms was one of them? And the next generation also had a whole bunch of kids. I met Eldest, and Bop's partner.

I was advised by several relatives to take good care of Belovedest, and that Belovedest was looking the best and happiest they had in years. (I did tell Moms that my intentions towards her long dragon were honorable.)

There was a "Great Scotch Exchange", which differs in this family from the classic White Elephant in that gifts don't fully lock, but they can't be re-stolen in any given round. The unexpected star was a blender. I wound up with an iThing charger. Belovedest got a shirt for their favored hockey team.

The main feast was pizza and salad. The secondary feast, after about 2/3 of the croud had gone, was Chinese takeout.

We added our laundry to the queue. Our room had in the meantime been occupied by a medium-large dog, who chose to greet me with a warning rumble. I averted my eyes and held my hand down politely so I could be sniffed. I didn't have time to be intimidated. I grabbed the laundry without further canine meddling.

After everything was cleaned up, the "kid" generation repaired to the rec room for Rock Band and drinks. (I believe that Pips is the youngest of us, and he got married in 2015.)

And here we are. Belovedest is tearing up the drum set. Mums may be asleep. Pops had been reading in the corner, but sang a few, along with Mums. One of the assorted cousins came to poke at the barn water softener. I'm working on a hard hard lemonade. I expect we'll be up for a while.

Tomorrow, we meet up with Toaster Aunt before Midnight Mass, which is Priest Uncle's farewell service before he retires, apparently.

Pips asked me a very important question: having been through a family Christmas feast, would I be willing to do it again?

Yes. Yes. As long as they'll have me.