No pressure . . .

Okay, I admit it. I'm a little worried about our little Boxing Day Christmas party.

I have never cooked for this many people before. And I've certainly never cooked Christmas dinner for this many people. And I've most definitely never cooked Christmas dinner for this many people who are, to me, acquaintances.

This, my friends, is another part of the RCMP lifestyle. You get moved around to new and exciting places (like Thompson) and you get to meet new and exciting people. And, based on shared experiences and separation from family and friends, you tend to bond with the other RCMP folk.

Most of the RCMP families in Thompson are well separated from their families. It can feel a little lonely, especially around the holidays. So we get together. When we first arrived in Thompson, there was a party. At Thanksgiving, we had a great turkey dinner with some of the Ident families in Neomom's unit.

And now, at Christmas, it's our turn.

I've met everyone who's coming Saturday. Some of them once, some of them twice and a few as many as 10 times. They are all great people, but the added pressure comes from the fact that we've only known them for a few months. I mean, how will they react if the turkey explodes in the oven or I forget a major ingredient in the stuffing? Do we have enough chairs and table space? Can I get this all done while, at the same time, playing the gregarious host? Do we have enough ice, pop, food, booze, entertainment?

To be honest, I'm not even sure I can get a big enough turkey in our small oven, although I do have a labour-intensive back-up plan should the turkey conundrum present itself. We never sold the old oven from Gimli. It's in the garage and, if I run into trouble, I can always wrestle that bad boy down the basement stairs and plug it into the dryer outlet, right?

To top this off, Neomom is working evenings right now and will be working right up to Christmas Eve. Then she's on call Christmas Day. If she gets called out to something major . . . I could be doing this alone. And not just alone . . . alone with two kids.

Maybe I'll feel better after I go shopping today and get Mr. Turkey and the trimmings. Maybe not. There's still the cleaning to do, sometime in the next 48 hours, while taking care of the kids, getting Sonwun to swim class . . . and the house is a bit of a wreck right now. And if these were "old friends" I wouldn't worry so much about the house. With those people, if they dared bitch, I'd show them the vacuum and tell 'em to knock themselves out.

And I'm sure no one will bitch. I'm sure that everyone coming Saturday is as nice and relaxed as our old friends. It's just that we haven't had the time to really get to know each other yet, so that level of comfort has yet to develop.

Bah . . . in spite of the pressure, it will be nice to share the time with people in the same shoes we wear. My experience with the RCMP folk is that, for the most part, they are easy-going, fun-loving and not too judgmental when it comes to each other's homes and lifestyles. We all move around a lot. We all have to make new friends every few years. Most of us have been separated from old friends and family for a long time and are grateful to have someone with which to share holidays.

Wish me luck. I think I'm gonna need it.