Christmas: The Aftermath

Christmas is done for another year, and I'm literally exhausted!

It started with an early-morning wake-up-call on Saturday thanks to the wind going mad outside, banging things around, rattling windows and such. Early as in 5:00, and as much as I tried to sleep in, by 7:30 I'd had enough and got up. The remainder of the day was rather less than a Sabbath's rest - I had a few prezzies to wrap and complete, like the last photos to stick in albums, and the food to cook. We had to phone ahead to say we'd be late for our supper appointment with my brother Alan.

Once we were all done, the car was stuffed to the gills with goods. But 20km down the road, I realized I'd forgotten a bag of essentials on the desk at home, and we had to turn around again...

We finally made it to Cape Town, found a dodgy hill parking on the very narrow street, removed anything that might make it break-in-interesting, and settled in to enjoy some family time. An excellent meal and a huge pile of gifts was demolished. I got to care for my littlest nephew and play with my not-so-little one. Late, way late, we finally got to bed - near midnight.

There was no way I was going to stay awake for midnight mass, nor fight my way against the howling wind to get there. And I still had a surruptitious duty to perform once certain offspring were asleep - the filling of a stocking, that my son still believes is done by Santa. This time next year it will probably all be over! :)

Sleeping in a busy city is not easy when one lives in a place so quiet that you can hear storm-surge waves breaking on the beach 8km away at night. With a few hundred people as neighbours it was not exactly a peaceful night. I got about 3 hours sleep between cars, alarms, my nephew awakening next door and a couple of dogs going off at whatever went past outside.

Again, had to be up early. I was a "guest artist" at brother's church, and had 2 songs to learn quickly at the 8:00 practice. Before we left, I fed Max (littlest nephew) his bottle - he's such a sweetie, and even my 12 year old son is starting to take notice of his cousins. He played with 1 1/2 year old Ethan quite a bit and spent time with Max too. He's growing up fast!

Church went on. And on. But it went well. We finally left at 11, then had a bit of a drive to our lunch appointment. More prezzie-unwrapping frenzy followed, a stomach-stretching meal (including half a barnyard of assorted beasts, roasted and boiled and such), but I made sure we got in the Friggin'Ford and headed home by 4:30. I'd left the dogs to fend for themselves (food and water provided, along with their outdoor homes) and was starting to hanker after my own home again. Thankfully all our driving was safe and smooth, we survived and were blessed by the many thoughtful gifts we received - and the best part for me was the giving. All my hard work on wood blocks, fudge, energy crunch snack-packs, gift vouchers, sewing of bags and serviettes/napkins and pillowcases, and the photo albums carefully and lovingly put together was greatly appreciated by those who received their gifts.

So another Christmas ends. I could happily fall right into bed, but the son is not yet tired and wishes to watch one final movie for the day. I'm looking forward to my own bed, sleeping in, and taking a bit of a holiday before work starts up in the new year.

Did we remember the Reason behind the season? Yes we did. At church, at home and while travelling. Perhaps we should have taken more time to do so, and that's food for thought for next year's Christmas - along with plans to make a bigger impact on the lives of those who need it (instead, perhaps, of joining the planned escape to a cottage by the sea for the weekend). We'll see though. For now, rest will be sweet!

I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas day. I hope you were blessed with gifts both tangible and intangible. I hope that you found peace and joy. And I hope that the new year rapidly approaching will be filled with good things.