T'is The Season

Is it snowing where you are? Not here. Hardly ever snows for Christmas. We might see snow in the next couple of months. For the longest while the joke was that it would snow because the circus came to town. They used to always come in February. One year their whole performance was snowed in and everyone who had gone to see the circus had to spend the night. Can you imagine that? So the circus finally got smart and I believe they came last year in April.

So no snow. Warm temperatures. Short sleeves. Hard to get in the mood. I think I"m starting to smell turkey already. Hubster and I always host the family get-together for lunch on Christmas day. Later, after the morning flurry of present opening and the meal, people head out to other homes for more celebrations.

Not us...Hubster takes a nap after all his well-appreciated hard work cooking for 2  days; I'm he clean-up crew, so I clean up some and work on the computer because I can't sleep when he snores. Mom and Dad both take naps across the street at their house. Later, when everyone wakes up hungry they return and the four of us enjoy leftovers and the most quiet, peaceful time of the entire holiday. It's actually the best part of the day. No hustle-bustle, no time-frames, no good dishes to worry about...it's just us enjoying time together and good food.

This year my Florida daughter and her husband will come up the following weekend, in time for my dad's 86th birthday. We'll try to get with her sister and all of us go out for our delayed annual Christmas Eve dinner at a local steak house. This little tradition is another one of our quiet moments, this time with the kids. When they were little we used to ride around afterwards and see Christmas lights; now they are living their own lives in different places. The Christmas lights are slim and none these days, so I doubt we'll miss the driving around part, but getting together for the dinner is still on! I can't wait!

Well, that's pretty much what the scenario around these parts will be for the impending future. After all the dust settles and the tree and houses are boxed away we'll start sorting and tossing and regrouping. You know how everything feels like a fresh start with the New Year, right? We love that part too.

I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year, surrounded by people you love and who love you! May you all be blessed in 2012.