Holiday Highlights

The holidays are officially over.  As always, too soon.

I'm sitting in Honest Coffee Roasters, have a cup of coffee, about to head over the office to start pushing the boulder up the mountain yet again.

It was a different holiday season, for sure, for reasons I've mentioned in earlier posts.  My first Christmas and New Year's without my mom was different, difficult, and maybe even a little depressing.  Next year will be better and easier, or so I tell myself.

Still, there were memorable moments the holiday season.

• J.P. and Joe, my muses and my inspirations.  It's hard not to love the holidays when they're so excited to be out of school, for Christmas, to watch football games on television, to go to Belmont games, to play on their iPads in the morning, etc.  They make me laugh and smile.
• Glow Nashville.  I was skeptical, at first, when Jude suggested we check it out at the Sounds' stadium downtown.  Turns out it was pretty cool.  We went just after it opened, well before Christmas, on a beautiful night without much of a crowd.  The boys ice skated while we watched.  They rode inter tubes down a hills of fake snow.  Not for me but they loved it.  Lots ob beautiful lights.  And, they saw Santa Claus.

• Christmas tree hide and seek at Santa's Trees.  Always a highlight, for me, of the holiday season.  We bought our Christmas tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving, then spent at 45 minutes taking turns hiding from each other amongst the trees.  I also ran into Miranda Pontes and reminded her of the Easter Sunday a decade ago when she served Jude and me day old pastries even thought Frothy Monkey was closed, as we sat on the front porch with our infant (J.P.) in the City Elite stroller.  That story made her happy and, somehow, I think she needed that day, she needed that.  I miss seeing Miranda around and I haven't seen her on Instagram as much, so I was happy to visit with her for a moment or two.
• Bardstown bourbon at the office with Lee, Chas, and Deb R.  I've never paid $129 for a bottle of bourbon and I probably never will again, but damn it's good stuff.  One night after work, Lee, Chas and I sat up front in our office, looking out at the Christmas lights on Fourth Ave. and on our office Christmas tree, while we sampled Bardstown bourbon.  I saw Deb leaving the courthouse late, waved her down, and she joined us.  Good conversation, good people, and good bourbon.
• Jude's brother and sister-in-law, Megan, and their young kids, Caroline and James, stayed with us over Christmas.  It was so much fun to have little ones in the house again at Christmas time. It also reminded us of how much work it takes to care for kids that young.  Full time, on call, 24-7, for sure.  James and Megan are great parents and their kids are treasures.  J.P. and Joe love Caroline and James and play so well with them.  I think Joe enjoys not being the youngest kid around for a change.  A developing tradition when we get together is the "cousin sandwich," pictured below.

• Christmas morning with Jude's parents, James and Megan, Jude and all of the kids.  Controlled chaos but filled with happiness and Christmas cheer.  
• Running a lot and running well and in good health.  For me, that's a small thing but it's everything.
• A few hours a my sister, Tracy's, house on December 26, with Gary, Tracy, Kaitlyn, Alice, Jerry, Will, Stacy, Hope, and Will.  It was different without my mom and without my mom's presence, but we got through it together.
• Church at St. Patrick on the afternoon of Christmas Eve.  Always special and more special with Joe carrying baby Jesus down the aisle to be placed in the manger, accompanied by J.P. and Caroline.  

I'm not really sure where we are with J.P. and Santa Claus.  At 11, almost 12, I'm fairly certain he has doubts.  Maybe he doesn't believe anymore but doesn't want to spoil it for Joe (or us).  My best guess is this was the last year of Santa Claus for him.  Joe, somehow, appears to still be all on Santa Claus.  He's determined that there's no Tooth Fairy - courtesy of a friend at school who apparently found a couple of his teeth in a drawer in his dad's bedside table - but he hadn't made any connection between the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus.  Go figure.  

Somehow, Joe's a little more worldly than J.P., so I suspect he will figure things out as it relates to Santa Claus at an earlier age than J.P.  

In the end, a different kind of holiday season for me.  More subdued, more contemplative and, frankly, a little sad.  I think (and hope) next year will be different and more . . . normal, for me.