Post-Christmas Perks

Christmas wiped out the last three weeks but good. Amounts spent were carefully calibrated, piles measured, number of gifts to open evened out. Tamales were made for Christmas Eve dinner (thank you, Mari!), some delicious brunch and then traditional ham and potatoes were prepared and eaten for the day itself. We sang, we read scriptures, we visited family. My work here is done, for the month. Whew!

The Christmas season aside, this is my favorite time of the year in San Diego. I've been called a wimp more than once for living in a city with almost no climatological adversity, but I sure love those sunny, 70 degree December days. The dirt is soft and rich, since it is the rainy season, and the weeds come out with a gentle tug. Everything is green and thriving. The sun is warm on my back as I kneel in the damp ground and clear stinging nettle from under my budding apricot tree. Mmmmmmm. This is the weather we pay for!

Vacation time is a blessing for family relationships as well. The children are so much more relaxed with no school and sports craziness, and minus all that pressure, we are all easier to get along with. We still have our moments, however. At the conclusion last night's fervent family prayer (that the mother was certain entered into the hearts of each family member), two children exploded with ill-will even before the last consonant of the "Amen" had been completed. "Why were you poking me all through prayer?!" "You were tapping your gross foot on me the entire time!" The parents, who in former years may have knocked a couple of heads together for the offense of contention during family prayer, merely exchanged weary looks of mutual sympathy. If we survive the children, we're going on a LONG cruise around the world, a few times.