Merry Christmas

It is late and I am exhausted. Eric and I were up until 2:30 AM Edmonton time (4:30 Baltimore) wrapping presents. Today was another shopping day, but not until we decorated the Christmas tree, which looked far better than I expected it to look. The Christmas tree was gorgeous. We have good tree karma. We returned to the same lot that we found the last time we visited Edmonton, and bought a frozen tree all tied up. I was distressed because it was not obvious as to how the tree would appear once unfrozen. Eric brought it in last night and it defrosted and presented itself as a lush and wide and tall and bushy tree, absolutely perfect. My mother has delightful wooden and straw decorations, which work well for the decor of the living room. I do not like a gaudy tree.

Eric and I had more shopping to do. We found our way to the massive collection of shops on the northwest side of the city and bought all sorts of craft items for Maya to finish her Christmas gifts. We found gifts for Maya too. I knew that there was an inequity of gifts this year and was trying to even things out. I looked for a centrepiece for my mother, which she always appreciates, and later found all sorts of small and fun gifts for my parents. I could have gone on and on, but Maya needed time to finish her projects, and I could have shopped and shopped and shopped forever.

Maya finished her work in very little time and only wanted to get out and play in the knee deep snow. I tried to work with my mother to arrange the evening meal, but that was a challenge because she forgets so much. We did eat a simple Christmas Eve dinner. Eric and I took Maya and Tara to 'Candy Cane Lane' to see the decorations to give Santa a chance to visit. He did not disappoint, and we sang Christmas carols and listened to Maya play the violin.

Maya had insisted that we start with a few gifts last night, and before dinner and after dinner and before singing, but finally it was time, and we each watched one another open presents. Tara was thrilled with her new guitar, and Maya cried when the 'Uggs' Santa brought were too small. She was recently a size 6, now a size 7 does not fit! We will have to shop some more. I saw that I had bought Tara far too much and Maya too little, and I knew that she was disappointed, but she usually asks for so little and will recover. This is not so easy!

My parents were happy to be with us and enjoyed the chaos and excitement. I was exhausted and ready for bed. Originally our plan was to go to midnight mass at the cathedral, but we were all too tired to make the effort. I forgot and was asleep before midnight.