Christmas Reflections

It's the second day after Christmas..almost the third and I can't believe it's come and gone so soon. Tonight I'm sitting by the fire, trying to stay warm, listening to Christmas organ music and reflecting on the last few days.

Late Sunday night Daughter #1, Son-in-law and my grandpups arrived, I was happy to see them but didn't expect them until Monday or Tuesday, so I did some rushing around to prepare just prior to their arrival. Daughter #2 also came up that night and we stayed up for a while and talked before heading to bed.

Monday the girls wanted to go to The Tea Room - a restaurant that specializes in tea and has a menu mostly of quiches, finger sandwiches, and soups. I had been in the front where they also sell their teas, but I had never gone there to eat. It was a very relaxing lunch...we tried several of the teas and it all felt so proper...it was fun! Before leaving we made sure to buy several to take home. After our tea we stopped in several stores in the downtown area. I must say, I was quite tired when we got home and it took no time at all to drop off to sleep.


Tuesday - Christmas Eve our Son arrived. The one thing I wanted to do this year was attend Christmas Eve services at my mentors church so I could hear him play and I could sing Christmas carols with the pipe organ. I wanted it to be a family outing, but neither one of the girls wanted to go, so I was prepared to drive down by myself, but Hubby and Son were kind enough to go with me. I was happy to not have to go alone and it meant a lot that they understood how much it meant to me. Just like the evening of Lessons and Carols I was a little disappointed in the music and the service was just so different than it was years ago when we attended. I was still glad we went, I loved just being in that room again and I was able to deliver a Christmas gift to my mentor. While we were gone, Daughter did some baking and we had pasties for supper when we got home we watched some Christmas movies and opened our stockings. Daughter #2 gave me tea, Daughter #1 gave me chocolates and Son and Daughter #2 gave me a cross ring that I just LOVE!

Wednesday Christmas - we all slept in. I haven't slept that late in years! Breakfast became brunch and lunch was cheese ball and crackers. We drew names again this year. I drew Daugher #1 and got her two dinner plates for her Fiesta Ware set that she is trying to build up. I also bought her a necklace made of Lake Superior beach glass. My Son drew my name...he bought me a set of wind chimes!! I LOVE WIND CHIMES. I used to have a set, but it took us so long to have a house that I got rid of them thinking I would never have a place to hang them. Now I have a new set, and I just love them. I can't wait until spring when I can hang them outside.

I started my day by cleaning up the dishes the girls left the night before. It took so long that my pies were late getting in the oven which made the turkey and ham late getting started. Long story short, the whole day was delayed and our Christmas dinner didn't take place until 8:00 p.m. I hate eating that late, but it's what we had to do. After dinner we played some games. I'm not much of a game person, but it was fun.

Thursday  morning Daughter #1 and Son-in-law left for Chicago. Son and I did a little shopping. His girlfriend surprised us all by sending gifts for us and since she had to work and I had only met her one time I did not think to get her anything so we went out so I could choose something nice for him to take back for her from all of us. The rest of the day was spent watching Castle and just relaxing. We did have a heart to heart talk that has left me confused and a bit shaken.

Friday morning Son left, I spent the day fighting tears. I left the house in it's total disarray and went to practice. I'm keeping this Sunday low key. I'm not ready for Christmas to be over, maybe because it took me so long to accept it's arrival, yet at the same time I want to clean house and prepare both physically and spiritually for the coming year. I have a lot to do but at the same time I want to try to enjoy Christmas for a while longer. Do you make New Year's resolutions? I don't, but I do have a list of goals to shoot for. After I get the house back in order, I plan to start work on my list but I think I'm going to listen to Christmas music while I'm at it.

~ Merry Christmas!