Christmas This Year

Apple galettes made by the girl

Woke up slow, joked around, opened gifts, more modest than usual this year, but somehow just right. My son set up his gadgets, my husband his, my daughter read on the couch, I made phone calls to family, then we cleaned up the wrapping paper and bows and set about breakfast of scones and bacon, which ended up being just bacon before we ran out of steam. Then we started in on dinner. There were naps in between, and uproarious laughter over the new sitcom The Millers, an Arsenal soccer match, more reading, more napping, more phone calls, everyone still in pajamas.

At a certain point I got dressed and took gifts to Aunt Winnie and to her wonderful home attendant Sylvia. I visited with them for a while. Sylvia had strung lights around the window and set up a little table top tree was across from her bed and there was Christmas music playing. The atmosphere was softly festive, but Aunt Winnie mostly dozed and I wasn't really clear on whether she knew it was Christmas, or even cared. Then I came back home and everyone was bustling around and the turkey and stuffing and the ham were almost ready so I whipped up my corn and cheese casserole with lots of onion and garlic and not much else, and my daughter made gingerbread macarons with egg nog buttercream and apple galettes for dessert, and my son made mimosas, and we feasted, just the four of us, a good, easy day, cold outside, the streets eerily empty, but cozy inside with my family.

I don't have many pictures to post as my husband and son spent the day mostly shirtless, both of them Caribbean-souled men for whom shirt-wearing at home is overrated and unnecessary, but that doesn't make for very appropriate postings. Well, maybe just one of my son setting up his stop watch gadget thingy and wearing the college logo sweatpants my daughter gave him for Christmas, because he's young and beautiful and can get away with it.

I hope you had a merry enough Christmas, dear friends, and if you didn't, well, it's over and we can all move on. I do want to say a heartfelt thank you for helping me get through the year just ending. It was a fairly tough one, certainly a watershed year for me, and you scaffolded me with your caring words and practical wisdom more than you might ever imagine. I am deeply grateful for you in my life, and for this odd and lovely virtual community we create together, every single day.

"Some are broken but some are perfect"

Gingerbread macarons, cracked and not

Setting up his super track watch thingy

Men cooking the holiday feast