Doug Deeson's musings

It was early November, and as with every year, Doug and Jack were arguing, playfully, about whether Christmas decorations go up before Thanksgiving or after.  Doug knew he’d win; he always did when it came to Christmas.  It was his thing; he loved everything about it. But each year, they had the same argument. Jack wanted to wait until after Thanksgiving to decorate but, come November 1 st , Doug was ready to go.  It was never a heated argument, and Jack knew the decorations were going up, but he still put up a fight, mostly for the makeup sex. And this year was no different. It was November 9 th , when Doug started to bring bins down from the attic, while Jack stood at the bottom of the stairs and glowered.   Putting on his sternest face to show his disapproval. It was the third trip, carrying down a storage bin of decorations, that did Doug in; he managed to trip on his own feet, and he tumbled down the last few steps, the bin spilling across the foyer.   ...

They couldn’t believe it was Christmas again.  Jack’s boys had been to stay for a few days, they’d brought their wives and Jack’s first granddaughter. It had been a busy few days for all of them, and the house had been full of laughter, noise and mess. Jack couldn’t have been happier.  They had a family dinner on the 23 rd , as the boys would be leaving for their mother’s place on the morning of the 24 th to spend Christmas with her.  On Christmas eve, Doug was the first up and he made a large breakfast of eggs, bacon, blueberry pancakes, a selection of fresh fruit and yogurt with a side of granola. Once everyone was up and breakfast had been served, they gathered to open gifts. Jack had spoiled the new baby, and he was happy to have the boys with him.     Soon enough everything was packed, goodbyes were said and the little convoy of two cars was pulling away. Jack stood on the verandah, at the little half wall and watched them pull out. He waved goodbye and ...