While Christmas 2016 was only three days ago, I am already dealing with the emotional down swing that comes as the post holiday blues. Being prone to this, I knew it was coming, but I didn't expect it yet. Perhaps it's because our oldest daughter left to go back to Austin this morning. Anyway, here are some of our highs and lows this Christmas season:
1. The disappointing, albeit understandable news that our 22 year old, Naomi, would not be able to come home for Christmas. On the up side, she'll hopefully be spending a week here in January. While I understand this is actually probably better for her as well as us, it was sad that she couldn't be here on the 25th.
2. On a more positive note, Jona-Lynn came home for a week starting on the 22nd, which was also my 55th birthday! I was blessed to be the one to meet her at the bus station in Portland, so I had her all to myself for the first hour of her visit!
3. My amazing wife who made S's and O's a traditional Swedish Christmas cookie that I hadn't had it years. They were as good as I remembered them.
4 Having the Davis's and Bourque's over on my birthday. These two couples are our closest friends, and this year 8week old Lenora Davis was with us as well.
5. Reading "A Christmas. Carol" with my middle school class. I read it every other year, but this time I enjoyed it more than ever, in part because the students were willing to get past the hard language and preconceived ideas that came to them through the Flintstones, Mickey Mouse and Veggie Tales.
6. Our annual Christmas hospital visit. I blogged about this already, but I didn't mention that one of the patients we visited on Christmas Day was named, no joke, Rudolph.
7. My new spinning ball that was a gift from Rose, our 15 year old.
8. Watching Rose in two performances of the Nutcracker. She had a small part, but she had the opportunity to work with the Maine State Ballet, a professional company and dance in the nicest classic venue in the state, Merrill Theatre.
9. My gifts from Jo were CDs by White Horse and Noah Gunderson. We saw these two acts together in Austin in October, 2015. It was one of the best father-daughter moments we ever shared. She even gave me her framed ticket from the evening. Very sentimental.
10 Celebrating Chanukah with my Christian school students, led by an eighth grader who is ethnically Jewish
11Taking my mother-in-law out to Christmas Eve mass. She doesn't get out much any more, so,this was special. Additionally, it reminded me of how beautiful the Niceness Creed is, and the sermon was one of the best I've heard in quite some time. And I'm not even Catholic.
So with its ups and downs- mostly ups I'm happy to say- Christmas 2016 has come and gone. Happy 2017 everyone who might stumble upon this blog.