Merry Christmas 2017

Yesterday it was 74 degrees outside.

It is late December, my friends, and it was 74 degrees outside.

And so when I got off work (which, by the way, I am now off work for the next 12 days), I headed home to find Roy blowing leaves in a pile with the leaf blower as our yard has been overtaken with them. And so Jace and I together bagged up leaves and piled the bags in a row so that Roy can dispose of them. And while we worked, Jace chattered away. He talked about a new kid he has met and Spanish class which he doesn’t care much for and how very much he loves Christmas break and on and on. It was all things roses in our conversation as Jace is happily anticipating two whole weeks of gaming and sleeping in and staying up late and eating great food and family coming home.

Afterwards, I ran over to the Lewis’ front door and banged on it mightily until someone threw the door open so that I could burst inside. “We’re going to Braum’s. Wanna come?”

And they did and so the Lewis clan loaded up into their van while we Seals plus Jared loaded up into our car and headed to Cleburne for some burgers and fries and ice cream and such. 

Normally we just get ice cream when we go to Braum’s but on this particular evening? Well, we hadn’t eaten as we were racing sundown with those leaves. And so we all stood in the “food” line rather than the “ice cream” line and ordered to our hearts’ content.

Roy filled some little paper cups with ketchup and then, once we were gathered around the tables over in the corner, he pummeled them with pepper for his fries. 

“Ew!” Tami exclaimed, making a face. “Who does that?” And we all laughed.

And then we chattered away, all of us talking at once and probably nobody listening because apparently that is what we do. And, of course, when Roy started telling work stories that include concrete and measuring and all things boring, Tami and I pretended to fall asleep. We found ourselves hilarious…Roy found us annoying.

But that’s okay. He knows we love him.

And then when we all had full bellies (much to my chagrin) and only empty containers and wadded up napkins filled the trays in front of us, we headed back out to our respective vehicles and made the trek back home, safe and sound. 

I love the holidays. I love the blinking tree in our living room and festive sweaters and eggnog. I am eagerly anticipating heading to Oklahoma tomorrow for two days packed-full of family and laughter and silly games. Best of all, Darian is home for 3 weeks, and Savana and Guerin are flying home for a full week on Christmas Day.

i am grateful. 2017 has been good to me, to our family, and I am greeting 2018 with open arms for the bounty that it, too, will provide. That isn’t to say that I know that only good times will shower from above. But it is to say that I will choose to look for the good, to focus on the bounty, sometimes in the midst of the pain.

I hope that your lives, too, are filled up with the bounty of love, family, and laughter during this festive Season.

Merry Christmas, Friends…from our house to yours.