The Morning After

Hi hi hi!  Happy Day After Christmas!  We’re having a good morning over here, with some cartoons and coffee and candy canes.  I’m still in my pajamas and a very old Red Wings sweatshirt, and there’s a baby passed out on the couch across the room.  There are four of us here now, the two kiddos, my sister-in-law (who made these peanut butter bars—oh my, I’m in love), and me.

We had a good Christmas, once we got all the drama out of the way.  I think emotions and expectations were running high yesterday, and there was a mashed potato incident that pushed someone over the edge.  It’s funny how family can be the place where we feel happiest and most at ease, but family can also be the group of people that make us the craziest.  I know that’s true for me, but this morning I was thinking about my family again, and I think the reason our family still works is that we don’t give up.  We drive each other crazy, and sometimes people curse and storm out of the house, but we stick together.  And that’s not an easy thing to do.

But I’m really, really grateful that today is the day after Christmas, even though tomorrow I’ll get on a plane and fly back to Texas.  There’s a happy warmth on the day after a big holiday, a sort of collective sigh of relief that we made it through all the plans and the expectations.  The kitchen is full of food, and the house just feels relaxed in the wake of all the preparations.  I like the getting ready parts, baking and wrapping presents and hunting for candy canes that my niece can eat, but I think I like the part after the festivities best.  Or maybe today is part of the festivities, but it’s the day we get to relax and laugh and hang out in our pajamas until 11 AM.

Happy winter, dear readers!  I hope you are enjoying your day after too.