The End of Christmas 2009

We finally have closure. Christmas 2009 can be put to bed. Yes, we made it to our daughter's home this week-end. After cancelling on both the 25th and 26th because of bad weather, and then cancelling on New Year's Day because of an accident Ken had, we held our breath over Plan D. We'd drive over Saturday and return on Sunday afternoon.

Plan D worked like a charm. Even Saturday morning I feared something would happen to delay us yet again. But no phone call came saying one of the kids was sick. No unexpected snowstorm roared down upon us, and there was no car trouble. Instead, we packed the car with gifts and goodies and off we went on dry roads on a sunny but mighty cold morning.

It may have been nearly the middle of January, but it felt like Christmas. Watchng little children open gifts is one of the best parts of that holiday for me, and so I reveled in seeing Jordan and Cole open and exclaim over the things Grandma and Poppy had brought them. The tree was no longer up, the nativity set not in sight, but all those things seemed to be there, nevertheless. We finished the day with dinner at a family run German restaurant in a small town a few miles away from our kids' community.

Sunday morning we all went to church, followed by a lunch of all the extra food we'd brought home from the restaurant on Saturday evening. Hugs and kisses and thank yous all around, and we headed into Kansas City for a quick stop at three stores, then on home.

As we drove through the snow-covered Flint Hills, I thought about our prolonged Christmas celebration this year. One that began with an early Christmas with our son's family in Dallas and finished up with this week-end's late celebration. Somehow, it doesn't matter when you celebrate this specail holiday. The important thing is that you do give it special signifigance and do so with those whom you love most.

And now I can move on with this new year of 2010. I can get busy with some writing projects that have been stacking up in my mind, and this morning I can go to the dentist and get some dental work done that I've been dreading. A new year, a new week, and maybe a new me who can go to the dentist without cowering. Note I said maybe.