Life Seasons

Christmas 2022 was low key.  Just me and J. and the cats.  

We kept gifts to a minimum - we are gifting each other some fun money to make our New Years weekend epic and super fun.  I did get a small thing which J. unwrapped when he got up.  

 

It's just us - me, J. and the cats.  This season of our lives is such a sweet one.  Christmas was low key and easy.  And Santa did put some gifts under the tree which was a complete surprise.   

We had a wonderful dinner at Atlantis - they really do know how to do a party.  We went at noon this year which was earlier than we did Thanksgiving dinner.  It was way less crowded at that time of day so that might be our new normal for attending the Grand Ballroom holiday events. 

A little play and then home.  I made some hot cheese dip to go with chips as a 'dinner' and we're winding down the evening watching "For All Mankind" and enjoying some eggnog with a little rum in it. 

B. traveled from Nashville to Destin, Florida today via his car.  The friend he was visiting in Nashville invited B. to join his family at the beach for a few days.  B. messaged last night that he was missing us and missing being here with us.  He didn't think about how most places are closed on Christmas Eve so he was spending a quiet night in his hotel room.  We miss having him here....but we always miss both our sons on a pretty regular basis so that's nothing new.  

Holidays are quiet and low key and while there were a few moments this morning when I missed the magic of having young(er) kids at Christmas time, it is very nice to skip a lot of planning, shopping, wrapping, cooking, etc. .  I hope there will be a season in the future where littles are a part of our world and I can't wait to spend time spoiling grandchildren rotten.  But I'm in no hurry - that season will arrive when it's supposed to in it's own time.

We received a save the date card for our niece - the only child of J.'s late brother B. .  She and her boyfriend V.  - who we met at the Celebration of Life we had for J.'s brother four years ago - are getting married!  They've lived together for years, bought a house together and are making it official.  We are thrilled to be going and looking forward to a busy weekend in mid-June.  We've decided to make it a road trip - it's only a six hour drive from Carson to Paso Robles and while we could fly, it makes sense to just drive.  Road trip.  Sounds fun.  

And I'm even thinking the Alaska cruise at the end of June also sounds fun.  Fingers crossed I can maintain that change of heart about going.  I know J. really (REALLY) wants to see Alaska and I don't want him to go alone.  So we'll see.

Tomorrow, we tackle taking a bunch of stuff to donation sites.  I've decided to let most of my Cow Parade figurines go.  Holding on to a few that I love - the one H. gave me for Christmas one year a while back and a couple others that I treasure.  I'll find a place to display the few I'm going to keep.  We will clear out a ton of boxes from the overhead storage in the garage.  

Merry Christmas!