We'll close out the year as we did last year and the year before that and the year before that and...
I hope for peace and comfort and happiness in the year ahead. And I hope that those who feel alone, will feel less lonely.
Sleep well tonight and as Dad used to say, see you next year.
Well, Helaina had to leave but the rest of us managed to squeeze in a walk before Jake had to leave, as well. It was lovely, despite the grey weather.
Here, without comment, are a few photos taken along one of our favorite walking routes. I'm sure you'll recognize the settings...
Thank God for my kids. I'm so glad we could all be together.
I have a ton of photos of 'the kids' opening presents but I'm not going to post them. At least, not right now. Instead, I'll post these which, to me, are the best representation of the day.
This first one was sent to me when, after opening Santa's presents, 'the kids' went on a walk together while I stayed home and worked on the meal. This is everything I want... on Christmas, or any other day...
And these photos sum up the day better than anything I can say...
Here we have Santa's response to Sam's letter.
The usual disclaimers:
First of all, keep in mind that Santa has no idea in advance as to what Sam is going to say. Therefore, there is little time to think of a coherent (or even an incoherent) response.
Secondly, Santa is always exhausted by the day(s) leading up to Christmas, not to mention Christmas Eve. Add to that the fact that by the time he writes this letter, it's pretty late - especially for an old guy like Santa. This was written about 12:40 AM on Christmas morning.
Third, yes, I know, Santa's handwriting is a mess. (See above comments regarding it being late and Santa being old.)
Finally, if Santa had it to do over again, there are things he would change ( just like me and pretty much everything on this blog).
With that in mind, you can either struggle through the actual letter, as Sam did (click to enlarge) or struggle through the handy translation below.
12/25/2023
Dear Sam,
Yes, the years continue to go by quickly! It's hard to believe it's been an entire year since wrote to each other. If you can figure out a way to slow time down, let me know!
Until then, the best we can do is try and appreciate every moment - even the small moments. They're all special.
I understand what you mean about having trouble when things get busy. It's hard when we have to rush and our routines get disrupted. You are not alone. I think we all feel that way from time to time - and it's ok. We all need to work on our tones and reactions in those situations. It's hard. And none of us are perfect. We just try to do the best we can - and you're doing a fine job! Keep up the good work - and good for you for knowing those things are important.
I'm so glad that you are meeting new people and doing so many interesting things. And how lucky all those people are to meet a fine young man like you!
I happen to think you're a very positive person. And even though days or weeks or months have their ups and downs, we do our best to focus on the 'ups' and we come out of the 'downs' a better person.
Keep up the great work. I'm proud of you!
Love, Santa
At the closing of this Christmas Eve, Sam, as he's done every Christmas Eve for as long as I can remember, sat down and wrote his usual letter to Santa.
I continue to be semi-baffled by this.
Although we never overtly discuss it, Sam and I see plenty of signs that 'Santa' is someone who exists in our hearts - and yet Sam continues to sit down on Christmas Eve and write his heartfelt letters.
I think at a minimum, there is a great deal of comfort in this - for Sam and for me- in knowing that there is someone out there who, no matter what, listens to you, cares about you and and will always be there for you.
And I hope, when the day comes that Santa is no longer standing right next to him, I hope that Sam realizes Santa lives on forever inside of him.
For now though, I'm glad Sam still writes his letters.
And I'm glad Santa, now and forever, listens.
The reason for this is largely because when we bake, it's usually to bake things such as banana bread or cinnamon bread or cookies (oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip, M&M, or otherwise) or - you name it - any number of delicious sugar-laden treats.
With some effort to control our weight (well, mine, anyway) we cut back on a lot of things and one of those things is baking and eating things we actually enjoy (just kidding... sort of).
Anyway, this week, Sam had a holiday get-together at his work so, for the first time in what feels like forever, we baked cookies - specifically M&M cookies (my favorite(!) - just sayin').
Sad to say, even though his cookies were a hit, he came home with leftovers.
Sadder to say, I didn't eat them.
As the kids say, :(
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| Yum! |
Today's torrential rain finally stopped long enough for Sam and I to squeeze in a late evening walk...
While we're at it, here's another photo, this one taken on a different evening from almost the exact same spot as the previous photo...
You wouldn't know it by looking at this pretty undramatic photo but in person, it was a pretty dramatic sunset.
Bottom line: you should have been there.
As a matter of fact, looking at this photo, you may not even realize there are birds in it.
All of which is fine.
I get way more pleasure seeing him wear it than I ever did when I wore it.
Plus it saves me from having to buy another gift.
Since almost all of Sam's work duties take place indoors (doing dishes,
mopping or sweeping, prepping or cupping food, etc.) it's unusual for me to see him before he's done.
But the other day, as I waited in my usual spot, I caught a rare glimpse of him, in this case, taking out the trash...
This seems like such a little thing but only a few short years ago this would have been unthinkable - for a number of reasons (not the least of which is dealing with the smells).
I can't tell you how extraordinarily proud I am of him.
I love Christmas shopping with Sam. Here's a photo from last year's post...
And here are a couple photos from this year...
I'm glad Helaina likes her 'new' job - thrilled, actually. But you wouldn't catch me dead* riding in a bucket, putting Christmas lights up on the top of the tower. I don't even like climbing the tower.
I'm glad she likes it though.
*Well, maybe if I were dead it wouldn't be so bad. But then, why would I be riding in a bucket?
The photo above is a view from some hill we hiked up, who's name I forget (if I ever knew it).
Like always, I wish it could have been longer (the visit, that is. Not the hike). But also like always, I'll take what I can get.
I finally got Sam to put together a Christmas list. Here's this year's list...
And here a a couple of lists from previous years. See if you can detect a pattern...
We had our first heavy frost of the season last night. Here's a small sample of some of the leaves I passed while walking Sam to work this morning...
