Christmas Weekend

Brr.

It was a white Christmas, and then some. In the days leading up to the holiday, the temperature was in the negative digits, with a windchill in the -30s. So. Cold. And so drafty. I swear I could feel the wind on my cheek even as I was sitting on the living room couch. There was ice on the inside of multiple windows, so that’s not as far-fetched as it seems. 

The snow was following by drifting, delaying Mom and Dad’s arrival from Christmas Eve til Christmas Day. I was disappointed, of course, but it was absolutely the right call. Many if not all of the counties they drive through were Level 1 and 2 snow emergencies. By Sunday, they said the roads were mostly fine.

It was special that they even came for the holiday! The last time they visited our house for Christmas was when we lived in New York and Edith was only a month old — it was the only year in all our time there that we didn’t return to Ohio in December. So it was 10 years ago … and even that visit started on Dec. 26! So we were excited to host again, even if the visit was shortened from two days to one.

The day was filled with our few traditions: presents at 7 a.m., sausage gravy and biscuits for brunch and lasagna for supper — the latter we started during Covid, so three years now. Much better than turkey or ham! With my parents here, we even imported one of our families traditions: Bingo.

Today was spent investigating our gifts and visiting with Mom and Dad before they left in the afternoon. The snow is expected to start melting in a couple of days with temperatures reaching into the 50s, so we might even be able to enjoy the rest of the kids’ winter vacation outdoors!