Week 12: Christmas in Sioux City, IA
When we were first married, Jeff and I spent every holiday trying to find ways to spend time with both of our immediate families and extended families. It was unbelievably stressful and someone was always disappointed, feeling left out or like we left too soon. We had to find a way to eat several meals in a day to try to please everyone and there was a lot of tension. So we worked out a system. My family has Thanksgiving; his has Christmas, the next year we switch. This system has at the very least, reduced the number of arguments and amount of stress. The last few years, we’ve had to change it a bit. The boys are at that magical age between being too young to really get it and being too old for all the Christmassy stuff. We recognize the years are fleeting for hearing the footsteps running down the hallway and cheers of seeing what’s under the tree on Christmas morning, sitting around together and opening gifts, watching their faces light up seeing what Santa brought, having brunch and a lazy day of putting together new toys. So we have had to change up our system a little. We want to be home Christmas Eve night to see this scene play out while we still can, which means sometimes getting creative. This year, Jeff had to work Christmas Eve, so the weekend before was our Christmas with his family.
We headed up to Sioux City on the newly opened four-lane Highway 20. It had been many years since I had taken that route and between time and re-routing things definitely looked different. It was nice to not be taking the same old roads on the long trek. We spent the weekend with Jeff’s parents, brother, and aunt. We went to Palmer Candy Company, which was a huge thrill for the boys. I had not been there before either. They let you taste test the candy before you buy, which between the lady working there who clearly enjoyed her job and our boys, turned into a free fall in to a sugar high. The old candy-making machines are preserved around the room with a little history on their plaques. There is an area for artisan savory foods in the back, but the highlight was clearly the candy and we purchased quite a bit. I fell in love with the chocolate creams and brought a bag home. The boys ended up with cherry and orange gummies and of course a Twin Bing to try. Jeff came home with some chocolate covered sea salt caramels, which I think his aunt bought and snuck in our bag later. We had a fun weekend playing games, chatting and opening gifts.
My favorite part is often going for a walk to the train bridge. My in-laws live near farmland on a large hill. At the bottom last summer, the boys and their grandpa built steps to climb a tree. Jeff’s old dog is buried down there. The deer come there to feast on apples. And it’s a beautiful place to walk. The path used to be railroad tracks and meanders between the fields and trees. We can let Anakin loose to run which is a rare and freeing feeling. Whoever comes, we always seem to get into wonderfully deep conversations. Toward the end of the path, there are train bridges that cross over a creek, which is beautiful anytime of year. Sometimes we climb down to explore, sometimes we just enjoy the walk. It’s a nice time to be out in nature with no else around. This time afforded some extra special time with their uncle. Though, it was a short trip, it was a nice time for all of us and we were back in time for Christmas traditions at home.
