Our second (and last) Christmas of the year was a considerably more subdued affair than the first. Although the kids were invited, they were having their own celebration at their own house. But we got to see John’s mother, brother and nephew, so it was still a big family affair, with roast beast and the trimmings. Quite a bit quieter, though.

The weather guessers had warned us that it would rain today. The headline in the paper made it out to be a certainty, but instead we were treated to clear, blue sky all day, and a billion stars tonight. It was cold, though, and very windy. The wind this morning, before I even left the house, sounded like a busy train station, and by the time I got home tonight it felt like ice stinging your skin. And this is California! I can only imagine how much colder it is in the parts of the world that are having a real winter.

So now Christmas, with all its joys and all its stresses, is over until next year. Let’s hope we can keep the spirit of the season alive for a bit longer. It might even be easier, without the distractions of shopping and organizing and accommodating. Without all that, it’s just a matter of making the choice to do the best we can with what we’ve got. It shouldn’t take a million dollar holiday to remind us of that.