Christmas thoughts

It is Christmas morning and all the presents have been opened. The living room resembles a house ransacked with gifts and bright paper wrappings strewn about. The kids are gone to text or call their friends about their gifts. I am left alone in the midst of chaos. It is peaceful.

Each Christmas is different. Time changes everything. The kids are older now, Hannah is twenty two and Will is sixteen. The innocence of youth is long gone. The excitement of youth is replaced by a more mature approach to the mysteries of life. The peels of joy that once accompanied the unwrapping of each gift is now a studied and muted "thank you". And left alone with my thoughts, what I see now on a snowy Christmas morning is solitude. My children have grown. Their interests have moved on from family to friends. Still, love and happiness surround me. I keep this moment for myself.

Merry Christmas to one and all. I like Sara McLaughlin better, but Joni Mitchell is still classic.