No place like home: Every time I go home to Arizona over the holidays, I start to feel like I'm trapped in the 1990 movie "Home Alone." Except that no one is going to Europe. And there are, hopefully, no robbers lurking about. Mostly, it feels like the beginning of the movie, where there are a million family members rushing about, ordering pizza and fighting over who has to sleep with the bed-wetters.
I am the oldest of 11 children, and the house was pretty chaotic when I was young. That chaos has only multiplied exponentially as the children have grown up, gotten married and had children of their own.
This year, we have five children under the age of 2 running (or crawling!) wild. And, while there are no pet tarantulas in the house like on "Home Alone," there are two dogs and a guinea pig. This year, I have to share a room with the guinea pig. I always have to share a room with the guinea pig.
I'm sure many of you readers are experiencing the same holiday joy of free-for-all mealtimes, too few bedrooms, too many contagious illnesses, not enough hot water and way too much noise.
Whether your family is big or small, the best part about the holiday season is generally reuniting with the same bunch of loons that share your red hair and passion for crime dramas. Or your broad shoulders and addiction to Hostess cupcakes.
Whatever.
The worst part is that in a week, I really will be home alone, with only my husband and baby, missing, I'm sure, the cold-water showers and steady hum of noise.
The guinea pig, however, is another story. I won't miss it one bit.
-- Elyssa Andrus
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B1 on Dec. 27, 2006.
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