I think it was my great idea. Christmas had become a chore over the years. I had a mother and three sisters and their families to consider and consider them I did. I considered them every year for over 25 years.
My sisters all had husbands and kids. The kids all had boyfriends or girlfriends and / or significant or insignificant others. My own kids had husbands, wives, and kids. By the time you got through counting noses, there were a shitload of people.
First getting the tree. Then getting the gifts for 30 or so people. Then getting the menu planned and the shopping done. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. I was working full time and this "Christmas" thing was stressing me out.
While it was fun, it was usually fairly drama filled too. Somebody (or several people) would end up feuding. Somebody (or several people) would have too much eggnog. Somebody (or several people) would get mad. Somebody would act inappropriately with somebody's husband or wife or aunt or uncle.
All of the festivity was also quite expensive as well. And, I got tired of it.
I suggested to Alex that we board our pet and go to Carmel for Christmas. There is a wonderful place called the Highland's Inn. I got us reservations for the 23rd, the 24th, and the 25th of December that year. Because of the Christmas holiday, we had to book and pay for all 3 nights in advance. The Highland's Inn is quite expensive when you reserve one of the Ocean View condos. But we were all set.
I had made the arrangement about a month in advance and let my entire family know about our plans. I had assumed someone else would "step up". As we were getting to mid-December, nobody had made any kind of a plan for a Christmas get together. This set my teeth on edge, but I would have lost my million dollar deposit if I had cancelled so I bull dogged right ahead with our trip.
We got to the hotel mid afternoon on the 23rd of December. It was really all that and a bag of chips. Our condo was equipped with binoculars so we could whale watch from our balcony. The accommodations were spectacular. We looked out on the Pacific Ocean from almost every window in the place. There was a huge jacuzzi tub. There were the fluffiest terrycloth robes imaginable. It was a paradise. Both Alex and I agreed that this was the most luxurious place we had ever stayed.
After a marvelous afternoon and evening, we went to sleep listening to the sound of the ocean. Bliss.
Christmas Eve morning, we went out for breakfast. I told Alex I was feeling a little shaky about leaving my mother alone on Christmas. He said he was too. We looked at each other and said, "What do you want to do?". Uh huh.
In the afternoon we packed up and left the hotel. Yes, we did have to pay for the extra two nights. We showed up at my mom's in time to take her to a Christmas Eve dinner at a local hotel.
It was not nearly as lovely as the Highland's Inn, but it was a much better idea than staying in Carmel feeling miserable and guilty.
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