what are you doing New Year's? (m)

The aunts want to know what we are doing New Year's Day.  My plan was to put appointments in my new calendar and do the few bills I have and just get ready for the new year.    I make the mistake of asking them what they are doing and there is a dramatic pause....followed by a sigh....followed by a depressing sounding,"Nothing.  We'll just be here."

My husband volunteers to take them for a drive into Boston to look at the ice sculptures from First Night.  It's a fifty-degree day, sunny and gorgeous.  Aunt X sleeps the whole ride.  Next thing I know, they are at my house for lunch. 

We grill steak and chicken and I made a large salad.  My brother Phil and his wife and their dog, Charlie, drop in and join us for lunch.

The aunts announce they have a gift for my husband.  They gave him a card which says, "For a special man."  Tucked inside is a $100 bill and a note that says, "Thank you for all you do for us."  He takes them for a drive 3 times per year and they think he's the best thing they've ever seen. Meanwhile, I get nothing from them for Christmas.  Not that I'm complaining.... I just think it's amusing.

Aunt X is a little loopier than normal.  She can't see well; she can't hear well.  She has to go to the bathroom three times in two hours.  She has to be guided the whole way as she keeps heading in the wrong direction.  There are crumbs everwhere within a four-foot radius of where she sits.

By the time they leave, I'm exhausted from yelling to be heard, repeating to be understood, and sore from cleaning up the mess.

I raise a glass of ice water and salute Aunt Y, the caretaker.  She has the hardest job of anyone I know.