Another Christmas Come and Gone

I used to get so sad when Christmas was over but I don't get the blues as much anymore. Maybe it's that Christmas is pretty draining or maybe it's the focus that I put on the small things that give me joy that I carry with me. I won't lie. I was exhausted after Christmas. The wrapping, the baking, going to Christmas Eve dinner, being woken early by an anxious 4 year old, cooking Christmas dinner...it's a lot. But there were many good points too. For the first time William was really really excited about Christmas. He crept into our bed at 4:51 a.m. and asked if Santa had come yet. I told him I didn't know but it was still early so we needed more sleep. He snuggled with me and slept until 7:00ish. I know this well because I really didn't get any more sleep. Matt was on my right and William and Xena were on my left. This made for a very crowded queen-sized bed. He was ready to go when he heard his daddy get up but Matt was taking a shower so I asked William to wait. William was upset that I made him wait to go downstairs but we had gotten him a bike and I wanted Matt to see his face when he found it. Turns out neither of us got to see him. He snuck down while I made the bed and I heard "Mom! You gotta come see this!" LOL So we got downstairs as quickly as we could and the unwrapping began. After opening each gift William would exclaim "It's just what I wanted!" What a sweetie.

I had many blessings to count this season even if I do gripe sometimes. As I think of families who have sick members that may not see another Christmas my heart breaks and I tend to squeeze my little boy a tad tighter. I think one of my favorite moments of the week was baking cookies with William. He loves to help in the kitchen and we baked sugar cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. He stuck with it every step of the way from mixing to rolling to cutting to icing. The wonder and excitement on his face was priceless and it's a time with him I'll never forget. He chose three of his favorites that we set aside for Santa and placed them next to the fireplace before bed with a glass of apple juice. We also left a carrot for the reindeer and it wasn't good enough to leave it with the cookies. Oh no. My boy had to leave it by the front door so we stepped out into the cold and left a carrot. And wouldn't you know it...that carrot was munched on by morning. William was a little put out that Santa left 1/2 of a cookie but we explained that he has a lot of cookies to eat and a lot of gifts to deliver so he was probably full and busy.

As many of my friends and family know, Matt and I were married December 28, 2002. We had a Christmas themed wedding. It seemed like a good idea at the time given how much we both love the holiday but in reality we're usually too tired to celebrate. When our anniversary falls on a weekday William is in day care so we take the day off and have lunch together. This year it was on a Sunday so we had William at home. We thought about letting him visit his grandma for a couple of hours but in the end we had household chores that needed to be done so we stayed home and ordered in. We ended the evening with me in bed reading and Matt playing a computer game. Yep, a lot has changed in the 10 years we've been together and over 6 years of marriage. I wouldn't say the romance is dead but it sure is tired. HAHA!

So now life returns to relative normalcy. The next big event we are waiting for is a significant snowfall so we can use William's new sled from Santa. Then I'd be pleased if spring would arrive.