This Life

Chapter 29

December 26th was an interesting morning in the Shepherd residence – especially for the children.

In the space of an hour all children under the age of 16 were given strict instructions by both their parents and their grandparents that they were not under any circumstances;

- To run around the house yelling and screaming
- Not to slurp their cereal or juice
- Not to fight with each other
- Not to chat to each other
- Not to play the television so loud
- Not to play any computer games that included gunfire or screeching cars
- Not to ask stupid questions ("mummy why are you in a bad mood?")
- To do as they were told.

Why the strict instructions, because every adult in the house (except Sam) had a hangover and they were currently sitting in the kitchen drinking very strong coffee and trying to stomach breakfast.

"I would sit and laugh at all of you, but I feel just as bad," Sam groaned.

"You couldn't possibly feel as bad, you weren't drinking," Mark stated as he rested his head on the table.

"Morning sickness Mark, oh god need to run..." Sam yelled as she ran from the table and headed for the downstairs bathroom.

"I would go and support her but I don't think I can move," Gavin said.

"Same here," answered Carolyn "Nancy please tell the twins to be quiet."

Nancy stood up and half walked half staggered into the lounge to tell the two boys to behave or else.

Thankfully by lunchtime the adults were starting to feel a bit more human with Derek and Meredith taking Beth and Noah out for a walk along the beach while Gavin and Sam tried to get some rest. When they came back Peter and Mark had started up a baseball game for the older children on the beach and some of the neighbours also came and joined in.

December 27th was the day Meredith Grey thought she had lost her mind. It had started early morning when Michael announced that he was going to go with his son, son-in-laws and grandson's fishing before another storm came ashore.

Meredith thought it would be a good idea to take Beth to the New England Aquarium in Boston and within two minutes every female in the family had invited themselves too. Within the hour she was currently driving on the interstate headed for Boston with Beth, Sam and Carolyn all singing along to nursery rhymes.

It had been a great day for the children but a nightmare for the adults trying to keep track of Regan and Charlotte who insisted on playing hide and seek in the middle of the aquarium.

Given that Beth loved the aquarium back at home, Meredith could only laugh at the toddler's expression when they walked into the aquarium and immediately saw the large glass circular tank. Beth's face was a mixture of confusion and joy and absolutely loved it when the staff came out to feed the penguins.

When it came to home time Beth threw one of her famous temper tantrums and it took both Meredith and Carolyn to calm her down enough to walk out through the doors. Beth then burst into tears and decided to cling to Meredith for another twenty minutes before Meredith was able to get securely settled in her car seat.

Ten minutes later and Beth was fast asleep.

The rest of the week went by fairly quickly with Derek, Meredith and Mark taking Beth on her first visit to Fenway Park for a tour of the grounds and before they knew it New Year was upon them.

They all woke up on New Year's Eve to a blanket of snow and temperatures that could only be described as arctic, but that did not stop Nancy's two daughters from going outside and playing in the snow in only their pyjama's leading them both to be told off by Nancy and Carolyn for going outside without their coats and scarves on.