The calm before the storm…

Christmas morning is the pinnacle of series of family events for our family this time of year. For about 20 years, Katie and I traveled to two traditional Christmas Eve Dinners, gone to Midnight mass, and spent the night at the the in-laws house. You might think that is strange since our kids are 2 and 4 years old, except that when I met Katie, her siblings on her mom’s side were 2, 4, 6, and 8, and 8, 10 on her Dad’s side.

In the past 10 years or so, we’ve had two yellow labs as a part of our lives and they have an internal alarm clock, driven by their stomach. So while the rest of the family is sleeping in just a little bit longer, my holiday tradition has become the early morning walks with the dog.

Walking the neighborhoods and paths during the quiet holiday mornings has to be one of the most peaceful places to be. Everything has slowed down enough to reflect on the year, be extremely grateful for the people in my life, and just enjoy the moment.

When I return, I always have thoughts of reenacting those old Folgers commercials on day time TV, where I would brew a pot of coffee and let the smell wake up the rest of the family. Well, now with Kuerig K-kups just don’t have the power and honestly, I just can’t figure out how to use my in laws coffee maker.

So then we come back and wait for the family to arise, for the next few hours are going to be a whirlwind of excitement…