The Holiday Slowdown

I have admitted several times that I'm not a big fan of winter. I do occasionally cross country ski and have ice fished a half-dozen times, but given my preference, I'll take any other of the seasons.

Having said that, I do have to admit that I kind of enjoy this stretch from Thanksgiving until New Years. My son said that its nice because you always seem to have something to celebrate coming up or a break to look forward to. The reasons I enjoy the breaks are many and I'm sure you share a few with me.

• Extended time with close family. My daughter came home from college on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and left to go back today. I was saying to my wife how good it was to have Sarah around the house, even when she was only sleeping. I miss her so much. At one point her and my son were giggling and messing around to the point of distraction. I turned to my wife and said, "I miss that tittering between them." 
• Fun with extended family. On Thanksgiving we hosted Donna's brother and his partner for dinner. After a delicious feast, we played a board game called The Resistance. It was a game of strategy and teamwork and made us all laugh. I realized that as benign as this was, these are the kinds of things that our kids will remember down the road. Everybody has traditions and if not, sometimes you invent them on the fly.
  
• Sleeping in.  It is a simple, guilty pleasure and I take advantage of it whenever I can during these holiday breaks. Unfortunately, my body clock gets me up by 7:00 most days, but occasionally I pull an eight o'clocker. I know we're supposed to keep our sleeping schedule the same during these breaks, but nobody listens to that advice anyways. Life's too short to wake up to an alarm every day. It rejuvenates me to get up at my own pace. 
• Pajamas and coffee. Mornings move slow and take their time during the holiday breaks. No ironing to do, leisurely breakfasts, and lingering over coffee. 
• Writing time.  These extended days off in a row allow me to catch up to my writing goals. Little things like submitting work, book promotion and getting new stuff written all gets chipped away during the break.
• Reading time. Being able to read guilt free is wonderful. I need to do more of that in 2014. Right now I am reading Lost on Planet China. The book is hilarious escape and actually takes me to China. Believe me, after reading it, I don't care if I ever visit China.
• Staying up late.  Not having to rise at 6:15 means I can stay up late and watch Breaking Bad. 
• Spontaneous Naps. Another simple, guilty pleasure, and usually the result of the previous bullet point.
• Spend time with Donna. Be it coffee at our favorite coffee shop or just hanging around the house, we get a chance to catch up on things and appreicate each others' company. We're both more relaxed and it shows. 
• Reflect. This time of year always causes me to look back at the year and take stock. It always reminds me how rich I am and how good life truly is.
• Football. College or pro, there's a lot of it on television and I keep it on in the other room with the sound down while I do other things. It's a weird, whacked out kind of sports multitask. 

This has been a good Thanksgiving break, filled with all the above. Now it's time to get back to work until the next break, because hard work makes them even better.

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