Not a Creature is Stirring

Greetings on a very early Christmas Eve morning. As usual, I am up well before dawn, while the rest of our household is slumbering peacefully.

My spouse looks so cute all snuggled up under the comforter, breathing softly. Dreaming of sugarplums?

Our three other guests…

…my mother-in-law, now asleep also, but gets up several times during the night as older people have to do. Thankfully the room where she sleeps has its own ensuite bathroom, so she doesn’t have to go far when she gets up in the middle of the night. Remote motion-sensitive floor lighting, installed just for her, guides her path to the bathroom, but doesn’t emit blinding light. Enough for her to see where she is going, but not so much as to make it hard to go back to sleep.

My wonderful big lug of a twin brother and his wife arrived yesterday. Their plane was on time, despite crappy, foggy weather. I met them at the airport, slogged through traffic, and got them to our home by 2000. Early enough for them to settle in, but not so late that I couldn’t get to bed at my usual early hour.

Their guest room is right across the hall from my home office where I am writing this post this morning. Shhhhh… let them sleep peacefully.

Soon I will begin preparations for a large and bountiful breakfast.

I am not quite sure what all of us will do today, but we will most likely remain at the house. The weather is forecast to rain all day, sometimes heavily. Perhaps even a thunderstorm? Rare event on Christmas Eve.

I will be in full “family hosting mode” all day. Just how I love it to be — with those I love most dearly all together. That’s what Christmastime is all about: family, love, and joy.

I anticipate that we will settle down for a nap this afternoon, so that we can be more wakeful as we attend a mass at the church where my family has attended since before my birth. My brother and his wife really want to go. I’m not sure about my spouse going with us. It is so difficult for him to walk, especially when the weather is cold and damp. If my mother-in-law is feeling up to it, she will join my brother, sister-in-law, and me for the church service.

I am not one who follows an organized religion, but I do appreciate the rituals, the music, and the camaraderie with so many neighbors and friends who we have known all of our lives. Christmastime celebrates a birth, but also renewal, hope, and most of all, great joy, love, and peace.

May you and yours have a joyful, peaceful, and loving holiday.

Life is short: have faith and love.