December 24

Given the insanity that was yesterday (and early this morning), it wound up being a whirlwind Christmas Eve. (Which is rather ironic given my recently expressed desire to live in the quiet moments of the season. But I digress.)

Despite the late turn-in time, we were still up by 9'ish. We saw my grandma for the first time (since she was understandably fast asleep at 3:30 AM) and she marveled over the kiddos, and literally gasped when she saw Isaac. Twice. (You're so TALL! How did you get to be so tall?) She turned 99 last month and is still so with it that it amazes me. 

At around 11, we headed out for lunch at Roy Rogers (because Abby wanted that roast beef!) and then on to Target for some groceries and last-minute gifting needs. The crowd was mercifully manageable, so we were able to finish our chores in quick order. Better yet, we got in some serious belly laughs during the car ride thanks to the Florida Man headlines Abby read from her phone. Then we took a quick trip to the Mother Ship in Damascus so I could enjoy a peppermint mocha before returning to grandma's, where we found my brother Charlie. Before he went back to our brother Bobby's for the evening, Abby and I joined him to do our first shot in the 2021 Vacuous Photo series. 

Then we closed out the day with a lasagna dinner, present wrapping, light detangling and wee tree decorating, and the putting out of the stockings.

So yes, it was a quick day. And though it went by quickly, I tried to savor the moments as the blessings they were, and my prayer for you is that you've done the same. Merry Christmas Eve, my friends.