Christmas Day 2009

As the blizzard swept through our state on Christmas Eve, it was pretty obvious by late afternoon that no one was going anywhere for Christmas.  No grandparents, on any side, no Mass, no nothing. 

And I won't lie.  A calm spread over me with this realization.  We couldn't go anywhere.  There was no timetables to follow, no schedules to keep, no worrying about one Christmas running into another Christmas.  No dashing about the city from one place to another (although the reality of it is that we've spread Christmas out nicely over the past few years so there is no real dashing anywhere...but somehow the panicky feeling has never left me). 

And I loved it.  And the kids loved it.

Although the kids loved it for very different reasons.  And I truely hope that when they look back on their favorite Christmases, they remember this one because of the snow (according to the weather people, Oklahomans have only woken up to snow on the ground on Christmas morning 6 times in the past 106 years).  It was their white Christmas.

The sun came out full force that Christmas morning, which made the snow all the more beautiful.  We opened up Santa presents and other presents bright and early. 

Side note here...and an ironic one too...the one year, I repeat, the one year I go bonkers about the materialistic crap these kids get and stick to my vow to only get them a couple presents instead of more because "hey, they've got the grandparents, and aunts and uncles and quite frankly, that's plenty"...yeah, the one year I stick to the few presents idea is the one Christmas we get snowed in and can't get to the grandparents.  And you know what?  I think the kids would agree that the snow was the best present of all.

My adult neighbor texted me at 9am to challenge the kids to a snowman competition.  They were already out there as were the neighbor kids.  It was in and out all day long.  Cold fingers and cold toes. 

And it was the best Christmas.