The Season

On this final day of 2012 I'm looking at the utter disaster that is the state of my house right now, every few minutes pausing to intervene to keep Silas from riding the dog, and am absolutely overjoyed. Even with a backlog of dishes that make getting water out of the tap an impossibility, curling up on the couch for day six of what is perhaps the Norovirus, and not having really eaten anything in a couple days, this holiday season was still a success.

It was a quiet celebration with Steve and Silas on Sunday night and Monday morning. Before heading to bed we showed Silas his empty stocking and the empty cloth gift sacks. He seemed a little confused as to why we were making such a big deal out of an empty bag, but reached all the way to the bottom "just to check" to humor us. Then we had him check again in the morning to see if they were still empty; of course, he broke into a thousand watt smile when he discovered that they weren't. The clear winner was a Lollipop drum. That kid can rock.

Then home to my parents' to celebrate with family. Three days of cousin-love and grandparent-doting. Lots of food and generosity. Two hand-knit gift hats completed and one IOU given. We hoped to have a quiet stretch of time at home to relax together, but illness came instead. I have to say, I have so much compassion for those who suffer with chronic pain or illness. I've barely been able to handle just shy of a week of not feeling like myself, I can't even imagine if this is what normal was like. Rules have been relaxed and poor Silas is in need of some focused attention soon.

Here's to a truly wonderful 2012 and to light, laughter, and love in 2013.