Merry Christmas

Good morning, and merry Christmas!

It occurred to me as I lay in bed this morning that my family has turned a corner when it comes to Christmas. We’ve transitioned from the kids begging to be allowed to get up ridiculously early, to the kids wanting to be able to stay in bed as long as possible. And while there was something magical about the lie-awake-all-night excitement of little ones, I also don’t mind this slightly calmer approach.

Anyway, I expect I’ll begin to hear signs of life soon, and then hopefully our day will unfold according to our usual and much-loved traditions. We still do stockings for the kids, so they’ll begin with those. Then we’ll cook up a nice breakfast and eat together. Then we’ll get to those presents that have been waiting under the tree. That will bring us to a bit of a lull before we get into the whole turkey dinner routine.

And I guess this is where we will differ a little from our usual routine. We returned from my dad’s funeral almost a week ago, and I immediately got hammered with a brutal virus that had me in bed for four days—something that is unheard of for me. Yesterday was my first day back on my feet. Inevitably, Aileen came down with it as well, and she is now down and out. So that means cooking duty will fall largely to me! Thankfully cooking a turkey dinner is within my fairly limited list of abilities, so I think we’ll be okay.

Whatever the day holds: From my family to yours, Merry Christmas.