To touch or not to touch.

Peanut's daddy and I attended his family's company Christmas party last evening. Let me start off by saying that it's still relatively small in size, many of those in attendance worked for Mr. Daddy's grandfather and two had worked for his great grandfather. Current employee's as well as retired old guard are all there as well as family. Also this party comes with an open bar and no inhibitions.

In years past I would get toasty with the sales guys, dance with the wives and office girls and come home with sore feet and a smile on my face. This year I was not sad I couldn't drink with the guys or dance all night long but there was a twinge of regret for being more of an observer than anything else this year. Of course this was made easier by the fact my normal drinking buddy had actually moved on to another company. To my surprise he saw me before I saw him. The first words out of his mouth were "Lemme get you a drink!"

So grinning from ear to ear I told him this year was not able to and that a consolation was he was actually not attending and then I told him why I couldn't drink. He was thrilled and then in a pattern that repeated through the night his hand went to my belly, then stopped short and hung there in a question mark. Laughing I told him it was ok to touch.

It was funny watching these guys, most of them my father age, all repeat the same dance. Their instinct was to touch yet at that last second they also realized there may be a personal space issue if they should. I told each laughingly that they could go ahead and touch.

These guys are family and my son is the second in line to the 5th generation who will eventually walk in the doors of a company my husbands great grandfather started. It was a continuance of life last evening that was striking as I watched my husbands youngest cousin's 4 year old dance her heart out. There out on the dance floor was the next generation, the one behind ours. My son will join her soon and Mr Daddy's other cousins twins (grats again guys!) won't be far behind.

The former employee, by the way, was there because the company he now works for sells to his former company and in a tradition that goes 25 years back sales people and other companies that work closely with the business are invited to join each year. So he, of course, pulled rank and attended with his sales guy. As we left I told him we'd be there next year and I'd be sans kid and I expected him to help make up for this year.