Monday, December 26, 2011

Home for the Holidays (+ Family Jeopardy)

My family and I headed to  Southern California for Christmas to spend time with our extended families.  My brother (above) lives in the house he inherited from our parents, where we all grew up.  We had a wonderful time visiting with each other, eating and exchanging presents.  Our dog Gypsy even got to play with her dog-cousin Patches.
The game of "Family Jeopardy," which I put together using this tutorial from Carrie and a fantastic template from the very generous Deb (thanks Deb!), was a definite highlight of Christmas Day. Our  categories included "Pete or Carmen" (those were my parents); zodiac signs; May birthdays (there are six in our family); college/university (places we attended); high school days (significant events that happened during H.S.); significant years; the next generation  (questions about the grandchildren generation); pets (that was a popular one); this and that; and favorite sports teams.  I had people draw numbers, and they played in teams of two. This worked out well for us.  And the winners were my sister-in-law and my niece:
We also fit in a movie outing (Mission Impossible), a trip to play Lazer Tag (surprisingly fun and perfect for a big group), and a shopping trip to spend gift cards.  All-in-all, it was a very full and fun visit "home." 
I put "Home" in quotes because, although I spent the first 17 years of my life in this house and all my brothers and sisters live nearby, at some point, I really began to think of the house where we live now as our "home."  Perhaps because we've lived in our house for about 20 years and have raised our family there. Or because we have set down roots in the community and really feel like it's where we belong. I'm sure my kids consider it (and not my parents' old house) their "home." 
But I wonder, 25 years from now, will they still consider it "home?" Or will they have created a new "home" someplace else?

No comments:

Post a Comment