The morning is cloudy. We have a wind alert with possible 45 mph gusts. All the tree trunks are swaying. The smaller branches are being blown in clusters. I wouldn’t be surprised to lose another pine tree. They have such shallow roots. It is 37°, but the wind makes the air feel chillier, down into the 20’s. Both rain and snow are predicted, but not any snow accumulation, dashing the hope for a white Christmas. When they first went out, the dogs romped. Nala ran round and round in the backyard. She came inside panting. Henry did a short run. Both are now sleeping on the couch.

Any kid will tell you the longest day of the year is not the summer solstice. It is Christmas Eve. Night never seems to come. I remember trying to convince my mother I was exhausted and needed to go to bed around five or six. It didn’t happen. We sometimes watched A Christmas Carol, the one with Alastair Sims, my all time favorite. Even now I watch it every year. When I finally went to bed, I decided I would stay awake to catch Santa. That never happened. I was too tired and Santa was too stealthy.

We had sort of an attic, actually more of a space with wood planks and insulation between them. The upstairs hall was small. Around it were three bedrooms and the bathroom. In the ceiling was a trap door leading to the pseudo attic. A ladder was there once the door was opened. One Christmas, activity in the hall woke me up. My father was on the ladder handing presents to my mother. I heard sort of a tinkling sound. It was one of those push toys which spun and played music. I knew it was for my youngest sister. I couldn’t go back to sleep. After my parents had gone downstairs, I sneaked down the stairs to watch them put out the presents. I only watched for a little while then went back to sleep.

Yesterday I shopped for dinner. I had been given money and gift cards so I filled my carriage. I bought snacks for tonight and food for my Christmas dinner. I splurged and bought a beautiful piece of beef, squash, carrots and mashed sweet potatoes. I bought decorated cupcakes for dessert. I bought a chocolate Santa. I bought treats for Nala, Henry and Jack. We are all going to celebrate.

I thank you all for always dropping by, and I wish you the merriest of Christmases.

This entry was posted on December 24, 2025 at 12:44 pm and is filed under Musings. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.