Christmas with Family

I didn’t think I would get another chance to write before heading out to Florida, but I found a few hours of free time today so I am taking advantage of it.

Speaking of Florida, we are really looking forward to getting to some place warm and away from this terrible Iowa winter. Linda has been on a real high these last few days as she prepares for the trip. I know she has talked on the phone with Darryl several times and the two of them have been making plans for our visit. With those two plotting, I know it is going to be an exciting, yet scary, time.

I wanted to report on our Christmas holiday since I have the time. We spent the day with my relatives at my mother’s house. Fortunately, Linda did not insist that I wear anything feminine for the occasion, so I was able to dress ‘normal’ (meaning regular guy’s clothes). That really didn’t seem to matter as it turned out because I spent most of the time either in the kitchen or doing what would normally be considered ‘woman’s work’.

As soon as we arrived, my mother asked me to help in the kitchen with preparing the brunch. Without a word being exchanged, she handed me a waist apron to put on. I noticed her smile as I accepted it without hesitation. Since we had been the first to arrive, the rest of the family members all saw me in the kitchen at work wearing the apron as they arrived. My sister greeted me with a hug and a ‘cute’ comment. My brother-in-law just waved and retreated to the living room. My brother and his wife stood and talked to us as we worked but neither offered a hand. Even Linda stayed out of the kitchen as Mom and I cooked. I served the meal and notified the others that dinner was ready, then removed the apron and sat down as Mom brought out coffee. Other then that, it was a normal meal with my family with much laughter and fun.

After the meal concluded, I started clearing the table without a thought. However, much to my surprise, no one else offered to pitch in and I was left alone to clear and wash the dishes (having donned my apron of course). I was even summoned to serve coffee once as the rest of the family sat in the living room. Everyone had just assumed that my place was that of the ‘maid’, even me.

Finally, my kitchen work done, I was able to join them and sit and relax… for a short while. After an hour, Mom asked, “would you be so kind as to put the table cloth and napkins in the wash machine for me?” Of course I did it without hesitation, all the while thinking that it wasn’t that long ago that she would have asked my sister to do that chore. Now it seemed to have become my duty. I had taken over for my sister! Perhaps Mom was now thinking of me as her ‘other daughter’.

Even the presents I received for Christmas pointed to my feminine persona as I opened boxes of dishware, mixing spoons, special pots and pans, a Belgium waffle iron, silk bedroom sheets, and even a Christmas apron. Linda gave me dress slacks that looked like men’s… until my sister noticed that the zipper was on the side! Thankfully, she kept quiet about that until she could tease me about it when we had a moment alone. And through it all, no one in my family raised an eyebrow or uttered a discouraging word about my quickly growing feminine world.

The only time I felt the least bit uncomfortable was just before we were leaving. Linda was talking about our upcoming trip to Florida. Everyone was excited for us, even the guys were a bit jealous that I was going to be attending the game while they were having to settle for watching it on television. My sister asked where we were staying and Linda told her that we would be staying at Darryl’s condo on the beach. I noticed a sudden glance Pam shared with our mother that seemed to convey some hidden message. Nothing more was said about the trip other then their wishes to have fun and safe travels. But I couldn’t help but worry about that shared eye contact between Mom and Pam. Did they know something? Had they found out about Linda and Darryl’s adventure? What exactly did it mean?

I asked Linda about it on the drive home. She said that she had not talked to them about Darryl. However, she had shared with her sister some of what went on that week when Darryl visited. Usually our two families don’t talk to each other much so I didn’t think that Linda’s sister, Julie, would have told Pam anything. And Linda doesn’t think that Julie said anything to their mother about what took place. But the whole thing has made me very nervous as this is a part of Linda and my private life that I do not want to share with family.

That is all going to be put aside for now as we prepare for our adventure in the sun. Let’s meet back here after the first of the year and see what happened.

Happy New Year!