Christmas 2007

We had a fantastic Christmas! Family, Family, Family!!!

Nate returned from a business trip to Reykjavik and set up his traveling office here in Pennsylvania. Mandy finished another extraordinary semester at Marymount Manhattan and is trying to recuperate prior to a Winter session followed immediately by the final Spring.

The house is full of Christmas. Decorations in hibernation for two years have been excitedly opened and placed with care around the house. The tree is up and nearly crushed under the weight of ornaments. (BTW, only one string of lights failed. I expected more problems due to the long storage.)

Unfortunately we did have a casualty. My Dad slipped on some black ice preparing his early morning commute as a volunteer at the hospital. This time he got an express ride in an ambulance. He broke his left ankle in the fall and needed surgery to get it repaired. Fortunately he was home for Christmas but unable to come down to our place for dinner.

Some small confusion about Midnight Church had us reschedule for early Christmas morning. A mere five minute drive to one of the oldest churches in America found parking space and seating available. It was a real joy to attend without the throngs of people and over excited unruly children. Home to a hot cup of coffee and some brief serenity before the rest of the house was awake. The place looks good.

The pace of Christmas is vastly different from even just a few years ago. We wake the kids, not vice versa. Breakfast was an event in itself, with baked French bread (like eating an angel's head, so sweet and fluffy) while sitting at a real table. Not the quick gulps of coffee washing down a tollhouse cookie before figuring out how to get the next expensive toy to perform. It is just so much more civilized now. The pace is comfortable. We have the time to enjoy each other.

Dinner was truly a feast. The new kitchen works. While cozy, the dinning room held eight adults and a number of unpacked brown cardboard cartons (which no one seemed to notice). There is enough room in the living room to retire after the meal and enjoy some conversation.

The overall conclusion...this house is big enough. We had a great Christmas, and hope you did too.