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/ Treasa Ní Chonchúir

A large pile of presents underneath a Christmas tree. Most are wrapped in red wrapping paper; one, a stuffed animal (of the Pokémon Eevee) is not.

Christmas in Scituate

/ˈsɪtʃuɪt/

Eryn, EJ, and I spent with my family in Massachusetts.

We arrived on the 23rd. It had snowed earlier that day, so EJ got to make and throw some snowballs. My sister came over for dinner that night; she didn’t want to miss a moment with her niece!

One of my aunts came over for dinner Christmas Eve, after which we each opened a present.

EJ never really adjusted to the time change, which was particularly challenging that night. Santa doesn’t come until everyone’s asleep, after all.

Snowball!
A child in a pink jacket holds a small snowball she just made. A house with a red garage door is somewhat visible behind her. It doesn’t look like there’s all that much snow on the ground.
Pleased so far, I’d say
A child in a red-and-green plaid dress smiles at the camera from a seated position next to a Christmas tree. The floor around the child is strewn with gifts, some of which have been unwrapped.
a Wings of Fire coloring book!
A child in a red-and-green plaid dress sits next to a Christmas tree. The floor around the child is strewn with gifts, some of which have been unwrapped. She’s holding up a white book so the others in the room can see it. She’s smiling.
Wings of Fire book 8!
A child in a red-and-green plaid dress sits next to a Christmas tree. The floor around the child is strewn with gifts, some of which have been unwrapped. She’s holding up a book with a dragon on the cover so the others in the room can see it. She’s smiling.

EJ found a pile of gifts under the tree when she came down late Christmas morning. My sister, her husband, and his parents came over for dinner; afterward, most of us headed to one of my cousin’s houses for dessert. It took EJ a while to warm up to people there (it was a big crowd), but once she did she had a lot of fun with her cousin Thomas, whom she hadn’t met before.

I sang my mother the Wren Song the morning of St. Stephen’s Day, as you do, but honestly the next few days are a bit of a relaxed blur. (As they should be.) I took Eryn down harbor for lunch and some wandering one day. Eryn and Kathleen took EJ to an immersive Bluey experience at CAMP another.

I got to take Eryn and EJ candlepin bowling (bowling as God intended), which was so much fun. EJ had never been bowling of any kind, and she really took to it! I think candlepin is maybe ideal as a bowling format for kids her age/size. It was Eryn’s first time trying candlepin as well.

A child bowls a small (candlepin) bowling ball between her legs. She’s not let go of the ball yet. At the other end of the lane, nine tall, thin pins are still standing.

We wrapped up the visit with brunch at The Tinker’s Son with family; unfortunately, our last day went a little bit sideways due to a problem with our rental car’s battery, but we made do. Eryn, Kathleen, and EJ got to see my cousin’s band play a pub in Quincy while I returned the rental to Logan.

Besides pandemic holidays when we didn’t go anywhere, this was Eryn’s first Christmas not with her family. We FaceTimed with them for a bit, but that’s not even remotely the same, of course. I’m really glad that the three of us were together for the holiday.

Merry merry, everybody.