Christmas

I am delighting in my Christmas break. I wake up each morning and think about what I will bake or cook that day. I am able to fit exercise into my day. The chores blend in with the free time and don't seem so challenging. Joe has headed off to work at a winter camp for kids with Juvenile Diabetes. Matt is waiting to get back to college, where everything is more exciting than life on his parent's sofa. But while he is on the sofa, he is willing to eat anything I make and enjoys a good conversation. Emily is enjoying not studying. OK, so Tom had to go back to work. Not all of us are on school schedules.

The nativity scene in my front yard remains lit up and will remain lit up through the Epiphany. It was my Christmas present from my sons, who are skilled with power tools. Our old nativity scene had begun to warp and Joseph took a tumble whenever the winds picked up. We have to take care when we stake it in the ground that we don't impale the sprinkler system. We did that one year, a costly mistake.

My neighbors think that I have forgotten to take it down. I wish we would all enjoy Christmas a little longer, let the season linger. I think that I will make some gingerbread today, we haven't smelled that scent in the house this season.