Post Game Show

I wanted to wait a day or two to write about Christmas.  Holidays for us – always, but especially the last few years –  are a little touch and go.  Somebody’s absent.  Somebody’s a mess.  People take turns.  You know how some families draw names out of a hat for gifts?  We kind of do that to see whose turn it is to be the fruitcake at Christmas. 

Only kidding.  We don’t do that.  Fruitcake designation is totally random.

So because Norman Rockwell skipped our house and went next door to paint his perfect family Christmas, we’ve learned to adapt.  We have expectations that are so low that the folks waiting in the funeral home basement for their turn upstairs would pass muster.  If there are no sirens, flashing lights or bloodshed, we’re feeling pretty ok.

This Christmas, I would give an A-.  A minus only because claiming perfection seems out of character.  Here’s why it was so great.

1. My kids figured out how to buy presents without borrowing money from me.
2. Everyone showed up – well, everyone in Milwaukee, that is.  No last minute disputes, flat tires, freeway pile-ups.
3. On time.  Get out, you’re saying.  Yes, they were all on time.
4. They laughed. A lot. 
5. There was a four-year old girl with bangs and pigtails.
6. There was some pretty decent food.  Thanks Mom (and Sam’s Club).
7. We kept it short.
8. There were no complicated toys that required DIY assembly.
9. People were gracious and grateful.
10. We lived in the moment.

Item #10.  That’s the takeaway.  Living in the moment. The hardest thing to achieve.  The best way to live.