North Carolina – Christmas and New Year’s

I grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. My dad still lives there, so that is where we headed after Atlanta. Lucas and Henry think of my dad’s house as their home base– if we had to say we have one. They got to decorate the “kids” room in the house.

The first Friday we were there, we went to the temple with my dad for Lois’ Yahrzeit. Yahrzeit means the anniversary of a death. It has been four years since she died. We miss her so much. My brother Brian and his two boys came up that weekend too, to attend the service and hang out.

 

Lucas and Henry had fun hanging out with their cousins, Isaac and Leon again (we saw them in Atlanta too). Henry is into rollerblading, so the kids and my brother Brian played broom hockey on rollerblades in my dad’s cul-de-sac. They also played ping pong, chess, and other games.

We saw my Aunt Sandy, who lives nearby. She had a rough year after being diagnosed with cancer, but she finished chemotherapy and is doing well. The timing worked out to where we saw our cousin Haley. She came with her aunt from California for a short visit. Haley is a singer-songwriter (https://haleydreismusic.com/), and she owns her own digital marketing company (https://beseen.marketing/).

We spent Christmas at my dad’s house. Michael bought a small tree, and we opened presents on Christmas morning. It was also the first night of Chanukah, so there was a lot to celebrate.

My best friend from high school was also in Winston at the same time, so we spent an evening playing games and catching up with her and her family. I also caught up with my high school friend Melvyn and my college friend Robert. We love it when the timing works out.

My other brother Seth and his kids came from Chapel Hill for New Year’s. Lucas and Henry had fun playing and baking with Max and Greta. We rang in the new year watching football and singing Karaoke. I took Henry to Chapel Hill for a few days so he could attend a STEM gaming camp with his cousin Max. Michael and Lucas stayed back in Winston playing pickleball.

Our friends, the Crabtrees, popped up again in North Carolina, so we got to hang out with them a couple more times. We went to a winery and ate some good barbeque. We will see them again in Budapest in a few months!

Our time in North Carolina was fun—lots of family, friends, and activity.