Christmas +1

Yesterday was like a huge meal. It was satisfying and so even though you ate, you ate more just because it was good. You ate until you had heartburn, and then you still wanted more because it only comes once a year and you want to savor every morsel. So yesterday, like a huge meal, I was fortunate enough to be blessed with a child and her wonderfully tolerant hubby, who called me at 5:55 am so I could come and watch the kids open presents. It was fun and totally expected and I was ready to pop out the door, until I realized I couldn't find the damn keys. I expect that my last act on this earth will be to expire while looking for my keys, damnit. So I got the back-up key and went down and we had a WONDERFUL time watching the kids and one another. I'd post pictures, but my camera decided to go on the fritz -- that or the card has a flaw. Not sure which. In any case, I am not posting a picture here of me and the two children in the same pose as last year's Christmas picture posting, because it's trapped inside the camera!

At 11am the next wave of family came and I was "eating" another helping of some different family coming together. It was fantastical and emotional and I loved every moment of it. It felt alive and interesting and by 1pm I was EXHAUSTED with a capital "E." Yet, it was very satisfying, but also added more to the feeling of "too much."

I took a nap after going home, and then to top of a day of wonderful Christmas-ing, I accompanied my SIL over to his family which has big arms and take me and Betty in as their adopted family. It's also a wonderful "meal" in the sense that it's like eating a dessert until you can't eat anymore. It was a real meal, that was sumptuous and rich and full of love. But it was also the joy of being allowed to be let into someone else's family and share the Christmas-ing they have going on. It was the emotional dessert to a day full, full, full of Christmas-ing and like a real meal, it was a simultaneous feeling of being satisfied, and too full. The pleasure of a whole day of togetherness and sharing and reaching out to family, friends and others.

I'm learning to like Christmas under Eric's remedial Christmas class each year. The true joy of having people over and sharing food, and being in company with one another in a way that doesn't generate tension and arguments and people so stressed out that they want to do bodily harm to someone else.

It may be too much to really take in to oneself in one day, but it's a banquet of love that I'm privileged to be able to partake of these last few years, and I'm very happy that so many will let me in to their lives and close to them and those they love.

Today, was a day of quiet so that my psyche could recover some. I went in for a hospital test that will be interpreted next week. I went grocery shopping and got new cat litter to the delight of my kitties who needed new litter on Christmas Eve but ended up waiting until today before I could satisfy the need for better cat hygiene here.

I hope you and those you love all got to have a feast of love and togetherness yesterday and that for all of you it was pleasure.