Christmas Week in Understanding the Unthinkable

I’m cooking a turkey today, so I can serve it with roast beef on Christmas. The house smells great. Our eldest son’s girl doesn’t eat beef. She also can’t have any meat with skin, fat, or bone on her plate (yes, REALLY! I don’t know how the heck she thinks chickens stand up), so this way, I can arrange it all on a platter and just do a quick reheat and the rest of us can enjoy the prime rib or both. I’ve made the acorn squash and it’s in the freezer, along with the butter pats. I’ll make Katie’s cranberry sauce on Monday or Tuesday, I think.

It’s different, having holidays without Nick’s spark. I went to my first holiday party last night. My husband stayed home with a cold, which I’m hoping NOT to catch! I stayed an hour and then our neighbors came in and started talking about Nick and I started crying, so I just went home. It was hard, but it was the first baby step toward normalcy. They were glad I came and they understood that it would be a quick visit. Even so, I was exhausted when I came home. Emotions, I guess.

Right now, my husband is installing new garage doors, which spruces up the house. I keep THINKING about getting my year end paperwork sorted but find a million reasons to avoid it. I just need to face the dragon head on! I’ve no idea how taxes will go this year. The BP settlement went into the business account, so I don’t think it’ll be personal taxes, but it still comes out of ONE of our pockets! First World problems, indeed.

Our foster daughter, now a grown woman closing in on 40, flies in tomorrow and will stay a few nights with us. She’s fun to cook with so as the holidays ramp up, we’ll be concocting all sorts of extra surprises.

As for me, the holidays are done. The lights, the cards, the presents, the tips, the decorations, the cookies, the parties, the wrapping, and all the tinsel, bows, bells, and whistles are complete. Not much to do until Christmas Eve services (I’m a greeter this year). I hope we can slip out for a drive around town to see Christmas lights tonight. I always treasure these last few days before Christmas, when I stop and draw in the breath of our creator and the hope of a better tomorrow.

No matter where you are, what you believe, or what you are going through right now, I wish you a happy Christmas holiday and all good things in the coming year.