Stillness of the Early Morning

December 28, 2010

House is quiet except for the snoring of small boys and a big dog.

Outside everything is frozen. The wind picks up the snow and whips it around. It is the sort of cold that bites your cheeks as soon as you step into it.

Soon the boys will be awake. And loudly, because boys can never do anything not loudly, they will remove their gloves and hats from the radiators, wrap themselves in layers, and eagerly go out and play.

For now I enjoy my coffee in the remaining moments of quiet.

Snow

December 27, 2010

The Longest Flight

Watching the sun rise from the plane window.

Are we almost there?

A flight which seemed that much longer when I accidentally deleted all the songs off his iPod and my laptop’s battery went dead before I could transfer them back on.

Just Ahead of the Snow

11pm Christmas night I found out the flight my two boys and I were supposed to get on Monday morning was cancelled.

That produced a mad scramble to find a flight that would bring us to the east coast ahead of the storm. Continental gets a big fat F for how helpful they were. There was no way to book an alternate flight online and trying to call them yielded a message that said because of the high volume of calls they weren’t answering calls anymore.

I ended up booking a flight with a different airline.

We needed to leave our house at 3am to catch the first flight. The boys ended up with about three hours of sleep. I ended up with zero.

But these two crack me up. Their enthusiasm and sheer joy at traveling by airplane made it all an adventure, not an annoying chore. Here is where I would insert the overused cliche of how life is a journey not a destination and the value of enjoying the journey, blah, blah, blah.

Scenes from Christmas: Two

December 25, 2010

Two new guitars, a ukulele, and a harmonica. My 10 year old son joyfully said, “This house is filled with music now!” Uh, that is one way to look at it.

Santa forgot to bring me earplugs.

Scenes from Christmas

My new favorite ornament. Made by Miles. The little snowmen are the fingers of his handprint.

Left for Santa

Home made cookies, carrot nubs, and gluten-free beer.

Also a letter requesting that Santa take a photo of himself with my iphone.

Tracking Santa

Twenty-fourth

December 24, 2010

You know how people say that if they had their life to live over they would do certain things differently?

If I could have a do-over there is just one thing I would change. I would be one of those non wrapping presents people.

Because wrapping presents? Not my strong point.

Twenty-third

December 23, 2010

Stockings are hung and waiting.
I wonder what Santa is going to fill them with.

No, really. I wonder.