christmas started off this year with a very quick trip to macon. basically it involved a stop at marjane drive to load up my grandmother, then a stop at the kroger to get gas, and then as always, a detour to pig in a pit for a sandwich. all-in-all, about a 20 minute visit to macon two days before christmas.
finally all back in one piece the three tingles and gi-gi all loaded up the next morning for the tingle family christmas in springville, alabama. it is always sweet to be with this family - my how we have all grown! it can be loud, and it can be crazy, but it is always, always fun! there is bingo (where my grandmother walked away a big winner with lots of goodies), and the kids led us in some carols (where my grandmother joined in the dancing fun), and there were tons and tons of gifts (and again, where my grandmother walked away quite spoiled). i could not seem to stop laughing when loading up our tiny civic we had to make even more room for all her loot. oh man, i love that woman. but moreover, i love the fact that terry's family is so warm, so generous and so special that they made her feel like one of them - like a tingle. precious. absolutely precious.
so much of this christmas season was different except for this day. it remained the same. the same family, the same laughter, the same joy, the same blessings and the same love. it was as sweet, sweet taste to my soul to have this one day where traditions were kept. tony was there with his jokes to make is all laugh and keep us on our toes. tammy made sure we were all joyful with her warming smile and caring heart (and her good dance moves). mimi made sure we were well fed and happy as she sat back and relished in her family - all together once again. papa, as always, played santa and was everyones favorite person for half an hour. like i said, it was sweet. it was tradition. it was a great start to this christmas adventure!
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