A Chicken Noodle Soup Christmas

Family Christmas at Last
Christmas 2016 was definitely a memorable one, largely because of the stomach bug that seemed to be plaguing the Fagella house.  Actually, the bug seemed to be spreading up and down the East Coast, the Midwest, and even some West Coast reports from other friends, making it more of a nationwide epidemic.  This might make a person wonder why they are not illness reports, just like weather reports, announcing what is happening.  "Rampant 36-hour stomach bug that is highly contagious - stay inside and drink lots of fluids. DO NOT go to family or social gatherings." 

Anna and her parents went to a neighbor's house a couple of days before Christmas for a Chinese Winter Solstice dinner.  The highlight was 4 year old Zoe throwing up at dinner.  Thus the saga began.  By Friday morning, Joe was sick.  By Friday afternoon, Anna was sick.  Theresa had a light touch, but fared much better.  Cousin James also had it.  By Christmas Day, Aunt Mary went down with it.  They were supposed to come down for Christmas, along with Aunt Loren, but clearly that was not going to happen.  With that, Theresa made a big pot of chicken noodle soup and bought some saltine crackers and that became the meal of choice for Christmas weekend (along with red jello of course).

Anna & her friend Lianor on Xmas Eve
We did make it to church on Christmas Eve, where Anna was an altar server.  This year they ran three masses simultaneously to accommodate all of the people, so we were in the mass at the school gym.  Theresa sat on the bleachers and Joe hung out near the bathroom.  After a delicious chicken noodle soup dinner, we lite the luminaries.  Christmas Day brought a visit from Santa (although Anna was not quite so happy since for some reason Santa did not bring her the IPhone she requested).  We had two more meals of chicken noodle soup and headed out to Meadowlark Gardens to enjoy the holiday lights in an effort to feel more festive.  By Monday, everyone was feeling better and able to enjoy a delayed Christmas Eve seafood dinner.
Meadowlark Gardens

Wednesday brought a pleasant surprise:  the arrival of Aunt Loren, Aunt Mary, Cousin James and Bonnie dog for a delayed Christmas visit.  All were recovered and made the trip.  All were very happy to celebrate a delayed Christmas.  Joe was happy to at last make the big Christmas dinner he had planned.  Storm was mostly happy to have another dog to hang out with (although Bonnie was not as excited about having Storm following her around).

James, Aunt Mary & Anna at White House Tree
The family was able to enjoy some of the Christmas site around DC on Thursday.  They made a trip to the White House grounds to enjoy the tree.  There was a moment of brief panic when Aunt Mary, while eating a sandwich in the car, became concerned that the little southeast Asian woman knocking on the window was not really looking for a parking place, but rather to rob them.  "LOCK THE DOORS" she yelled (you can take the girl out of New York, but you can't take New York out of the girl."  They did not give the woman the parking space.  They also visited the U.S. Botanical Gardens, although had to forgo the trains because of the 90 minute wait.  The best surprise of the day was the Library of Congress, which was spectacularly decorated.  Friday the family braved the wind and cold to visit Arlington Cemetery.  The highlight for Anna was the stop at McDonald's after this trip, where she ate way more chicken nuggets than her mother cares to think about (Joe noted she washed it all down with an orange Hi-C).

Aunt Loren & Anna at the Botanical Gardens
Friday night brought Joe's delayed Christmas dinner.  On the menu was an antipasta plate, salad, and ravioli followed by poached pairs.  Following dinner, the New Yorkers headed back for a late-night drive to beat the crush of New Year's Eve traffic.  It was a great Christmas visit.

A big thanks to Aunt Loren, Aunt Mary, James & Bonnie for making the trip to DC!  Merry Christmas!

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