Twas' The Night Before Christmas

By the time you read this I will be recovering from the 2013 Akande Christmas celebration.  I will be breathing the sigh of relief that says, “Now the real holiday begins!”  Let me explain…

Seven of the people I love most in this world are curled up sleeping in my house.  Incidentally, these seven people are also most likely to make me lose my mind!  Anyway, grandma, who my kids call nanny, is bunking with us for a few days until power is restored to her house.  Like so many folks in our city, our Christmas plans have had to change because of a bad ice storm.  My kids are so excited to have nanny full-time.  And I am so grateful that we are in a position to be the ones doing the caretaking. I am less grateful that my Nanny care-taking gig is coinciding with Christmas. 

My mom, although not a fan of cooking, is the one who always hosts family holiday dinners.  Her home is big and warm.  She loves having her eight grandchildren in the same home where she raised her kids and the grandchildren love Nanny’s house! But when Nanny’s power went out, we took her in along with the 20 pound turkey she had purchased to feed the 19 Akandes for Christmas Eve dinner.  I smiled my most welcoming smile, thinking to myself, “Oh good Lord, how will I pull this off?” immediately followed by “I better have some Ativan left!”   

You may or may not know this about me, but I really don’t like to cook.  I don’t even really like other people to cook if I am around.  Cooking gives me tremendous anxiety.  I have yelled at Wife many times for cooking.  “What are you thinking?  Why are you cooking now?”  She grumbles something about having to feed the kids and in order to feed children – something we are legally required to do (stupid laws), one of us will actually have to cook.  She is so show-offy about her parenting skills.  Cooking is messy and disorganized.   I just hate it. 

BUT as the big moment approaches, something amazing is happening.  I’m getting excited.  First of all, I’m a bit of hero, because I am saving Akande family Christmas.  And I am receiving the torch.  The Akande baby is grown up enough to host a pressured filled family meal.

We don’t have a tree, (ours is a Jewish home).  We have only 8 chairs (there are 7 of us and I discourage guests during meal times).   We are short on space.  And I am pretty sure one of our kids has a raging fever.  But we’re doin’ this thing!  Bring on the Akande Family Christmas celebration.  Check back next week to hear how it went down. 

If you are celebrating Christmas this week, the Silverman-Akande family wishes you and yours a very merry and bright holiday season. 

XO Ajike

P.S.  Listening to my cuties having morning cuddles and chats with Nanny…  Nanny singing, “I’ll be home for Christmas” and G says, “No you won’t!  You don’t have power!”