A Double D New Year

 Farm 1972

    Quite a few years ago, my brother-in-law bought a farm that had an old farmhouse. This farmhouse had many bedrooms, an oil burning stove, and an unusual assortment of discarded furniture donated by family members.  The kitchen was large and had an old fashioned wood burning cook stove and a small sink in the corner. During the holidays, three complete families (mom, dad, plus kids), a couple of grandmothers, and an occasional odd uncle or aunt would pile into the house for an extended holiday; there were three distinct age groups, the kids, the adults, and the elders.

Lounging in the Livingroom

    This particular time we gathered together to celebrate the New Year. The young people had gone skiing and the adults and elders were sitting around discussing the New Year’s Eve evening activities. Of course, we would play canasta, charades, Mahjong and probably Scrabble but the kids needed some entertainment when they came home later that night.

Tired Kids- Annex full of balloons

    Double D decided to blow up hundreds of balloons and fill up the large annex where all the kids slept. He did have some help but this project took up most of the afternoon. He also loosened the light bulbs so the kids would be disoriented in the dark. To add to the confusion he short-sheeted the beds (a favorite prank when we were all together), he also hid an old wind-up alarm clock set to start ringing at 4:00 am. 

    That evening while the adults were celebrating the New Year, Double  D secretly recorded the evening’s festivities. Later he hooked the tape recorder up to a light timer in the kids room and set it for 3:00 am, just enough time he thought, for the teenagers to go back to sleep before the alarm clock would go off. After much partying the adults and elders went to bed.

Playing Games
 Black Jack

  
   



        The kids came home from skiing and tried to sneak into bed without waking the adults. This was difficult since the lights didn’t work and balloons were popping all over the place.  However, things eventually quieted down.
    It wasn’t long before the tape recorder started blaring Christmas songs sung by carolers who had perhaps a bit too much to drink.  The kid’s couldn’t shut it off, because they still hadn’t figured out how to turn the lights on. After much shouting, most of which can’t be repeated, and twenty minutes of chaos everyone went to sleep, or so we thought. The kids were really plotting their revenge.

Serious discussions in the kitchen

    At 4:00 am the alarm clock started ringing, but not where Double D had placed it. The kids had found it while turning off the tape recorder, they had snuck it into my room, crawled under the bed and placed it if the far corner next to the wall. When the alarm started ringing, I couldn’t reach it to turn it off.  Everyone just put their pillows over their heads and tried to go back to sleep. 
    The next morning, my sister accused the neighbors of getting drunk and singing very bad Christmas carols outside her bedroom window in the middle of the night. Also, Double D’s clothes had mysteriously disappeared.  All he had left was one slipper, the underwear he slept in, and a blanket from the bed. Many hours later his clothes were finally located in the freezer, in the barn, and other locations around the old farm. Don’t mess with the kids!

We wish you a fun filled and happy New Year 

Reuzeit Emporium