Miser Family Update: Family^2 edition

The Miser Family at Thanksgiving

 Life continues to be rich and full in the Miser Family household . . . and "family" has really been the operative word this week. 

Sunday was N-son's 18th birthday, marking a huge day for him as well as for me.  Woo-hoo!  I've successfully raised all my children to adulthood!  Where's my medal/trophy!?!?

N-son played drums in church, and he rocked it.  And then at home, we raked leaves and played in the yard.  N-son put his culinary skills to good use, making fried chicken, french fries, and grilled brussels sprouts for his parents, two of his sisters, and his niece A-child.

So what else?  Monday I taught my calculus classes, sent almost all of my students home for the holidays, and then on Wednesday I met up with J-son for a bit of work on some legal stuff he needs to deal with right now. 

And then on Thursday, we had 18 people for dinner:  all but one of my kids, my dad and his wife, and eight students.  It was cozy and festive gathering: the countries represented around the table included the USA, Kosovo, Vietnam, China, and Pakistan. The states included Pennsylvania, Maryland, Texas, Minnesota, Florida, New Jersey, and California.

My dad and his wife, with some of my students and children.

In the "Dang it!" category, I wish I'd remembered to take a picture of my dad and his wife together with me and my kids and my granddaughter.  Having four generations together is such a blessing.  But I did take a few photos of the gathering, with the back and side of my dad's head.  Sigh. 

After dinner, I drove J-son to his former foster mom's house for the weekend.  She continues to be an awesome presence in his life, and I can't even begin to express how grateful I am to have her as part of my extended family, and how glad I am for J-son that she is bulldog-style tenacious when it comes to keeping him on the right track.  We're all lucky to have her in our lives.



Then, the day after Thanksgiving, we went downtown for our city's annual tree-lighting ceremony.  I-daughter and N-son sang with their choir, and then the mayor lit the tree, and then we got to hear many tubas joining in harmony to play Jingle Bells and other Christmas carols.  By "we", of course, I mean I-daughter, N-son, K-daughter, and A-child -- because my husband boycotts the tubas, declaring the event to be the sound of "synchronized farting".  But I think Tuba Christmas is so much more than that.  It's Joyful music.  Cold people congregating to sing.   All that.

And that's the news from the Miser Family, who continue to be prosperous in our adventures.  May you and yours be similarly wealthy.