I’m feeling a melancholy this morning. We are finally winding down the holiday season, and I’m looking at one final week of the family being all together. The week will be filled with last minute things to get done before Grayson heads back to school — buying a few more clothes, securing a COVID test prior to travel, and checking in with him to make sure that he is ready to get back into studying mode, especially since he’ll have online classes for the first two weeks.
Yesterday was a bit emotional, as it was the anniversary of my father’s death. I took some time to shed some tears, and wish that he was here to be part of all our family celebrations, the joined a FaceTime call with my brother and sister in law. We have a new tradition, connecting on this day for a shot of Irish whiskey, and a toast to Dad. The call proved to be a great opportunity to check in with my brother, as we have not seen each other in person for quite some time.
Even though I love holiday time, I am ready to put it behind me, and move into 2022 with hopes, dreams and determination for a great year. With the holiday rush behind us, and the decorations packed away, we’re just not quite done yet. We have one more birthday to celebrate this season — Nicole’s. This has become the official end of the holidays season for us. An exhaustingly long season, but one that we find the energy to move through so that we can honor her day, celebrating the arrival of our wonderfully creative, artistic, scholarly, athletic, and compassionate oldest daughter.
As we officially close the holiday season tomorrow evening when she blows out the candles on her birthday cake, I know I’ll be moving into a hectic period of wrapping up our time with all 6 of us under one roof. In between all the last minute items we need to get done before Grayson hops on the plane to Miami, you can find me in the kitchen preparing some of his favorite meals.
