Final Approach to Christmas

It was nice to come in yesterday and say, "I don't have to go back to work for the rest of the year!" The semester is over, Christmas break is here, Hallelujah!

So here it is over six weeks since I last wrote. However, three weeks ago I discovered my last post had been stuck in the drafts folder of my email and had not gone out as I had thought. This was due to issues we had with our internet service over October and November. To keep a long story short, we have switched providers, the issues we were having have cleared up, and our bill is lower. I know these issues are first world problems, but it sure is hard to function nowadays when your speeds are slower than dial-up. Moving on.

To touch on what has been going on with us, Thanksgiving was a nice break in our routine. Since I got the week of Thanksgiving off this year Vicki and I decided to spend the weekend before the holiday in Gatlinburg. I must say the idea of getting away was so exciting that over a week out I was counting the hours until we left. Vicki picked me up from school on the 19th and we were on our way. We had supper with the boys in Cookeville that evening. In Gatlinburg we enjoyed hiking, shopping, revisiting some favorite places to eat (like Log Cabin Pancake House and J-Del's Pizza), and discovering some new ones (such as Peter's Pancakes in Cherokee, NC). And we had a fun lunch date with Brent and Sabrina Freeland on our way home.

The boys got a three day break for Thanksgiving. Nate and I cleaned all the leaves off the yard the day before Thanksgiving, chopping many of them and pushing the rest to the field with the mower. Ben was spending the day with Mei Lin and was happy he missed that job. I'm happy the job is done.

We celebrated our Thanksgiving on Friday, mainly due to Jenna's work schedule. The seven of us gathered for a mid-afternoon meal followed by a game of Loaded Questions. After that we cleared away the aftermath of our feast and drug out the Christmas decorations. Jenna and Nolan left when we began to assemble the tree to decorate their house.

You know, I think that was the point when it really hit me that Jenna is married. Up until now it has just seemed like Jenna was away at college once again. Oh, I knew intellectually that she and Nolan are married and have a home of their own, but her being away really hasn't been any different from her college days. This time, when she didn't spend the night in her old room, but went to her own home, is when it sunk in at an emotional level. It is good. It is as it should be. Still, it's a little strange.

Since the holiday we've been coming down the final stretch of the fall semester. We just wrapped up mid-term week at Davidson Academy and the boys have finals at Tech.  Now the four of us are home and the house is full again. Ben, incidentally, is sleeping in Jenna's old room.

So here we are at the beginning of our Christmas break. We have all the normal holiday activities ahead plus some chores to get done, like cleaning out the gutters and trimming some trees in the yard.

Merry Christmas!

Joe