Christmas 2008

2008 Christmas Letter

What is it with my family and Christmas?  Why does there always have to be a trauma for the holidays?  We (Steve, actually) was determined to put the house up for sale last January.  In order to sell, we needed to renovate the entire inside of the house. Our enthusiastic painters would not stop painting, so on Christmas Eve, our guests arrived, all awkwardly standing around the furniture covered with drop cloths.  When the painters finally packed up at 8 PM, all I could do was smile and say, “OK everybody, let’s put up the tree”.  It was at picturesque Norman Rockwell moment, briefly, until Calley started puking!  Poor kid, she was so sick!  I ended up having to take her to the acute care center for IV fluids and a shot on Christmas! Shot for Calley, no shot (gin) for Jake!

Because we were re-modeling, we had “PODS” delivered to our driveway. Last year winter began early with downpours of snow and freezing rain. The PODS became frozen to the driveway, and our “temporary” storage became a subsidiary of our home until the spring thaw!  A lovely look for the neighborhood. Our neighbors were so pleased!!!

You will all be happy to know that “COPS” Ellwing has been discontinued. We sure are.

This past weekend, the entire neighborhood was out putting up their Christmas decorations.  What an outstanding idea!  Down the basement to the crawl space I went.   Shouldn’t be hard to find – the bin I keep the lights in is enormous!  I spent a good hour searching… found all the dead mice… but where could the lights be???  Mystery solved…Steve decided that since we were “downsizing” we wouldn’t need Christmas lights, and threw them all away.  Problem is, of course, we didn’t sell.  So, off to ACE hardware I prance! Plastic fake candles in the windows – PERFECT!

2008 in the Ellwing household was The Year of the Car. After Calley got her drivers license, there began a non-stop, relentless negotiation for the use of my old Infinity between the girls.  Steve was in heaven – an opportunity to research possible cars on the internet and travel throughout the Chicagoland area searching for the “perfect” second used car!  Steve dragged me along on the journey.  Day one – we found the perfect car and took it home to the kids. Calley HATED it! So, the next day it went back. Day two - off we ALL went, the kids and me whining as we were subjected to used car dealer after used car dealer torture. At long last we found a small SUV, which took to our mechanic to check.  He was horrified - the car was DANGEROUS. Cassie and I set off to take the car back, and all of a sudden the snow came down, HARD!  I watched in horror in my rear view mirror as she lost control of the vehicle.  Amazingly she regained control just in time.   Oh boy, oh boy, this meant that another search was on for the new car!  Jake adamantly opted out of the adventure this time, so Cassie, Calley and Steve were back on the road. Sundown came, and the three very tired car inspectors were back with a car!  Now, the next standoff occurred.  Who gets the Infinity with 200,000 miles, and who gets the Galant with 31,000 miles?  The battle raged!  Bottom line…Cassie likes to trash her car, Calley keeps her car clean, so Calley won the war.

One week later…Calley comes into the house sobbing.  Someone hit her car by backing into the quarter panel, and left the scene. Not surprisingly, the insurance company came out to verify it was not Calley’s fault.  Verified, thank God!

For those of you in the Chicago area, there is a Gerber auto commercial that goes “riding in my car beep beep, everything is so neat, hope no one runs into me”.  I was returning from visiting a friend in my PT convertible.  It was a picturesque day, cruising down the road, singing to favorite tunes when a car came through the intersection in front of me.  IDIOT!!! I yelled as I slammed on the brakes.  BAM! My front end hit the other car’s passenger side door.  Irritated, I got out of the car to check on the other driver, when a witness said, “why did you go through the stop sign?” I stared at her, and then spun around to see the silver outline of the back of a stop sign.  Immediately, I went into a panic attack – I have NEVER had a ticket in 36 years!  When the paramedics came they put me in the unit and helpfully said, “Relax, you are having a panic attack”.  My response with hyperventilated gasps, “I…know…I’m…having….a…panic…attack…I’m…a….nurse…!”

Ok, this puts Steve back in his element.  A totaled PT Cruiser means more CAR SHOPPING!  Oh Boy!  As he surfs the Internet at 1 am, he finds many, many, many more cars for us to look at.  Off we go- me with colorful bruises, and Steve on yet another mission.  Car after car, dealership after dealership the torture raged.  We arrived at a warehouse in Carol Stream in a run-down industrial area.  Steve was hesitant to go in, but we had traveled so far… inside the building were used cars, including a most beautiful dark metallic green Lexus SC 430 hardtop convertible.  The 2002 car was purchased in 2001, and had been one person’s “toy”.  Mileage was 9,000 miles!  We test drove the car.  Steve thanked the salesperson, and as we left the building, I informed my husband that we were not departing until we bought the car. But…said Steve, we have other places to shop.  Nope – Jake has made up her mind.  Not Leaving! Done!  Sold!

Soon after this, Cassie and friends were driving the Infinity back to college.  Cassie was getting tired, so she asked one of her friends to take over. I could tell by her voice this was not going to be an enjoyable call. “Hello? Mom and Dad?  Ummmm, my car rolled over in a ditch…”  Luckily, the kids were OK, (thank God for seatbelts) and the car survived.  Now it REALLY looks like a college student’s car, with missing license plate, missing running light and body damage.

The “We’re Not Right” team took a break from the Three-Day Breast Cancer walk last year, but we are planning on resuming the pain and agony this year.  I swear the team only walks so they can see me try to get in and out of those stupid pup-tents we have to use.  Graceful?  Not even close.  I have learned if I back in, it makes it easier to exit! For some reason, the team always giggles when I do this.

Don’t tell the girls, but Steve and I have a plan…sell the house, buy a one-bedroom condo, and leave no forwarding address! Think it will work? 

Oh, yeah…I’m still a Super Star Nurse, and Steve is STILL with the American Medical Association. Amen. Cassie is performing at Lincoln College, and Calley is breaking bones and dislocating joints in competitive cheerleading.

Happy Holidays to you all from the still serene Ellwing home.

Love,

Steve, Jake, Cassie and Calley.