In the morning, there was untangling and figuring out on the dining room table after the WiiU – or however it is spelled – was opened. Summer was the hero, figuring out how to swap out TV’s and cords and getting everything to work without a word to her grandpa or me of possible Christmas problems. Since Colin had been waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting for this gift, hitches would have been bad.

Shane decided to calmly wait it out under the table – pj legs courtesy of Summer.

I was the only one left at the table following a post-dinner scramble and sat there taking in what I could see from my seat:
A goose hanging in front of me.

Santa sitting in the middle of the table.

Over my shoulder and to the side, Summer’s candy cane tree with the turkey we didn’t have the heart to take down.

My great-grandparents watching from the far living room wall.

A last minute mussed-up Raggedy Ann/Andy wreath.

Then there is Shane on the porch, nestled in clutter and lying on Santa Wubba.

So what was I doing on Christmas Day? Well, I wasn’t doing nifty Mother-things, such as making cookies with icing applied with a paintbrush, making elaborate, multi-stepped desserts and salads; but I was in the kitchen. Yes, I was in the kitchen with a cold turkey and a big roaster and with Der Bingle, who helped tuck the first one into the second.

It was a bit messy – all that turkey fat and juice – and so I actually wore an apron. But I kept the Christmas Spirit up on a little corner of it, although the message was more, shall we shall, determined.

Der Bingle’s work involves drones – and, given my personality lately – his family-life includes one as well. No need to go there; I’ll probably snap or ease out of it. So I have this apron, which I think is pretty nice; I know at Christmas, Peace on Earth is a major theme, and taking the bad in the world seriously and working to keep us safe is a responsible undertaking.

Rudolph flies in those skies people work to protect and so I added him to the apron; Der Bingle noticed his legs were a bit tangled, but hey, you can’t fault someone for getting caught up in their work. Still, I straightened them out for his close-up.