Post #917. The typical December 26 letdown

• 2 milestone Birthday Celebrations that included surprises, flying in daughters, months of planning, coordinated decor, presents, wrapping, cake building, menu planning, cooking, creating.
• Decorating every nook of our home and yard, adding to the outdoor display as the weeks progressed and fighting against the rain elements of the December "monsoons" to keep it lit.
• 4 Christmas celebrations that again included shopping, wrapping, menu planning, cooking, baking and special decor
• 1 special baking afternoon with three generations - Mother, daughter, granddaughter
• The annual drive around town to take in the Christmas displays
• Dinner at my parents
• A Chemistry Christmas Magic Show at the U of I
• Studying for finals, nagging about studying for finals, the very successful completion of finals and the best grades ever received during a semester of high school, at our house.
• The successful completion (A+) of behind-the-wheel driver's education and passing the road test (just have to go pick up the license and we have an official 16-year-old driver)
• Last minute mall shopping with daughter and her friend, lunch together
• Christmas movie nights
• So much time for me in the kitchen that I felt like I was on a 24-hour marathon of Food Network's Iron Chef America

... I'm sure I'm forgetting some items, but in a nutshell - this is our December.

After literally months of planning, buying, wrapping...  it was all over with, just like that.

Just like I knew it would be and yet still catching me unprepared for the let down. 

The let down, the afterglow of the festivities which results in the day-after-Christmas depression, hit our whole household. 

How many 16-year-olds do you know who lament on their Facebook page that life goes too quickly, that Christmas is too fleeting....  ? 

Ours does. All three of our daughters are sentimental and I am the Queen of sentimental sadness.

Even Jim felt the mood yesterday. We basically laid around all day. I tried to hide under a cover on the couch.

Sarah escaped for the evening to her friend's house, giving me a hug and a kiss goodbye, assuring me that she would return today and that we would have a houseful of girls tonight for a sleepover and that hey - maybe we could play some board games, or TWISTER.  :)

Even Winston had simply had too much excitement.

Here's a snapshot view of my Facebook photo albums of the past week of celebrations. The snapshot view doesn't show you the complete photo and cuts off heads, etc., but you get the idea.  Over the coming days, I'll feature some of my favorite photos enlarged. In the meantime...  

Hold close to the ones you love,

for we will not pass this way again.