A Christmas Story... with a Side of Beans

My dear husband can and (if lovingly encouraged by our committed readers) may speak for himself. As for Kinsey, Sutton and myself, we [HEART] the Holidays! Unfortunately, as they grow in number, each one blends seamlessly with the next. There are those few, unique years that have successfully managed to stand out. I believe they're referred to as memories. Ha! Such as, my 11th Christmas when my immediate and extended family decided to spend the holiday skiing in New Mexico.

It was the evening of our departure, and the bags were packed (including the one cradling the baked beans) on top of our GMC Astro mini-van, secured tightly to the luggage rack. We were ready to leave, when it dawned on our "wise men" that backing out of the garage might present to be an issue. Hmm... Instead of removing the items, backing out and then re-securing them to the rack, the clever and obviously safe solution was to round up a few of the adults and "bounce" on the back bumper while in reverse. Yes, I know. It sounds like a scene straight out of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and should have been our very own Star of BethleMAYHEM, beckoning us to rethink this crackerjack (oops, I mean) inventive strategy. Surprisingly and to the dismay of our cringing mothers, it worked! So, we're off. With the "shepherds" on navigational duty, cruising down the highway around midnight, and the rest of us trying to get some shuteye while it's still dark on our 10+ hour drive to Angel Fire Resort. It was an hour or so into the trip when we heard a small, random "click" and temporarily pulling over to check it out seemed like the right thing to do. Dad opens the door to take a peek at the luggage rack. "Oh crap." He reappears and in a disheartening tone says "It's all gone." "YOU ARE KIDDING ME!!!" gasps my cousin. What, no luggage??? No clean clothes. No presents. The thoughts are running wild through my 10-year-old brain. They decide to turn around to see if we can visually locate our luggage in the dark. Fortunately, my other aunt and uncle were following in a car close behind and had front row seats to this disastrous debacle. Majority of it lay stranded along the side of the road with only a few pieces getting sideswiped in the middle of the highway. With broken luggage ropes, our only option was to squeeze ALL of the luggage into the van with us. Ok, sounds a little uncomfortable, but at least it's not a total loss, right? However, our Christmas story would not be complete without a serving of gold, frank-in-BEANSCENT and myrrh. You guessed it. The baked beans had managed to grace their presence (and aroma) all over the luggage for us to inhale throughout the remainder of the trip. Undoubtedly, none of us will ever be able to fully enjoy baked beans again.

A multitude of other family outings with similar circumstances are remembered as well. However, I'll be saving those to post at a later date(s). One would think that with such havoc encircling my childhood memories, my holiday spirit would permanently be scarred. I also believe experiences like this one fostered that annoying perfectionist in me. But... it's those humorous moments that differentiate one holiday from the next and bring laughter to the point of tears while reminiscing with family. So, I encourage you to not only consider straying somewhat from your traditional holiday fare, but also share to with those of us on the blog-o-sphere those occasions that so lovingly made you (or your family) who you are today ;)