Christmas was wonderful this year.
As always, Mom outdid herself with the food, the gifts, and the holiday decor. We ate gourmet Italian food for Xmas Eve dinner, unwrapped gifts for 4 hours(!), and enjoyed many hours of family togetherness afterwards.
Perhaps the highlight of the day (both literally and figuratively) was the diet coke/mentos experiment on the cul-de-sac outside. The 12 ft high diet coke spew was a sight to behold. :) Though I was sort of annoyed at the boys for hibernating with the five networked computers to play Starcraft, I liked that the girls got to watch “Frontier House” and the “Curiosities of the Isle of Man.” Both were great.
The drive home last night from Bfield was a long one. To break up the time we pulled off the road for a bit ad headed for a strip mall. After some lackluster Mexican food, we all walked into a Michael’s store together. A part of me thought that the after-Christmas sales would be enticing–all that gift wrap and decor at half-price.
But it wasn’t even enticing. It was sad. So many red bows, so much glitter, sparkles, feathers, miniatures, etc. That the “day after” their glitz was dimmed by the dinginess of the store aisles and their obvious undesirability. It’s that feeling that one has when coming home from a trip and seeing the tree and the decorations all around the house. Knowing that it has to all be put away and that, soon enough, it will be time to put it all back up again.
PS: the photo is from our Legoland jaunt on the day before Christmas :)