Today

Today was an amazing day for the J-Ms. In anticipation of an incredibly full and rich day planned for yesterday (with Winter Fair and the Haiti Christmas Party), we had purposefully planned for nothing for today. I knew we'd need a day of respite to recover and regroup, but staying put and laying low (and not being action-packed) is always a challenge for our family (being still is not one of our strong points). Lucky for us, Mother Nature was looking out for us today. We woke up to freezing rain and it proceeded to pour, leaving sheets of ice covering everything, all day long. The roads where too slick to drive anywhere. The icy rain was too raw to venture outside with a still-recovering-from-ear-infections-Meera. And, so, we were forced to stay home and just be. Even our cat Cooper didn't go out at all today. It was the best possible scenario for all five of us right now. In the midst of a crazy (crazy!) holiday season, this was a day of calm and peace that is hard to come by with three under six and two overly-energetic adults. The five of us never got out of our pajamas the entire day. We watched videos, made paper airplanes, listened to Christmas music, watched the birds at our bird feeder, and snacked (leftovers from the Haiti Party) all day long. We talked. We cuddled. A lot. This afternoon we made a fire in the fireplace and roasted marshmallows and drank hot chocolate. I took the time to make a beef stew and Braydon took the time to make bread-- all of which we ate for dinner. Amazingly, we had no blow-out tantrums from kids or screaming fits of frustration from parents. Amazingly, we just were at home, the five of us. It was like a tiny little one-day 'pause' on all the hectic-haze that is this Season... but with the added benefit of it actually being at the height of this Season. It was just what we all needed.