Christmas Night

Ahhhhhh, we're home.

We were up early doing chores in a frantic blur of activity on a very cold Christmas morning. The ice stubbornly refused to break or melt out of the various goat's water buckets until I brought a bucket of boiling water down and that required more time than usual, so, I wore my "chore" clothes" to see the grand kids open presents.

Like most Grandparents with pockets of small grand kids nestled nearby we try to catch some of each households present openings and general melee. Even if the presents are mostly unwrapped, we provide an opportunity for the kids to show off their new toys and clothes. Actually, the kids are still too young to show us new clothes without parental prompting. Opening a package of clothes is still a disappointment and it is fun to watch the kids put brave faces on what was clearly not on their Christmas list. No amount of Oohing and Aahing over a shirt or sweater is going to take the out the sting. Grandparents are supposed to be supportive and go Oooh that looks nice on you. I let Kris do that. I never forgot that feeling (just dreadful) and have a hard time faking excitement over a tiny pair of socks. I want to grab the new dart guns and shoot at the parents who thought socks were a good idea.

Anyway, it is always fun. Our gifts are small and usually anti-climatic. After you get your first bike and you taste the new freedom and expanded world it implies, no small gift is going to make much impression. Still, if a gift has enough moving parts, or can be misused in a mildly dangerous way, it might make the list of toys they show their friends when they come over to compare loot.

Because of the animals and the cold temps, we had to return to the farm between visits and spent more time coming and going than stirring up trouble with the grand kids and their new toys. Still, it was great fun and excitement was pretty close to squirting out each kid. Good job, moms and dads!

After returning home to the farm and doing mid-day chores, we were off for a large family dinner, these are always fun and loaded with more good food than any should be allowed to even smell, let alone eat. A bite of this, a taste of that, and soon, it is painful to breathe. Conversation is reduced to grunts as digestive and cardiovascular systems both fight for oxygen. When it appears you may live through it, the dessert table catches your eye. Just a taste and you promise your stomach you will quit. Your stomach knows better but finds a little more room anyway.

So, after being up early, sharing everyone's excitement, running hard all day to make it just in time to be late every where we went, we arrived home to the peaceful quiet of the farm. There are times when its peacefulness just washes over you. This was one of them. It was snowing gently. We did chores together without talking-enjoying the quiet. There was no need to hurry. The bitter cold of the morning had passed and it was a winter wonderland to be savored. It was getting dark and after awhile we could think no other chores to keep us outside and we went in and sat down next to the fire. The chickens get the extension cord from 4 to 6:00 each evening to light the chicken coop and keep egg production up. It was still snowing big flakes at a few minutes before six when we unplugged them and fished the cord out of the coop, through the blackberry patch behind it, and across the driveway to the Christmas tree. I found the cord under the snow on my first grab and plugged it in. The snow covered tree was dazzling. We moved back a ways to be able to take it all in and stood in rapt silence. Off, way in the distance, a truck was laboring up a hill going somewhere on this peaceful Christmas evening. We stood for a long time and it occurred to us to take a picture of this magnificent tree and try to capture some this peace for a later time.