Hello Friends, And Welcome To The Post-Christmas World

As much as I love Christmas, I love the post-Christmas quiet as well. My two oldest go and visit their bio-father's side of the family, and the phones stop ringing and people stop dropping in at all hours of the evening.

For those that are regulars here, you know I left the Department of Homeland Security last November to try out the corporate world. I am still not sure if I made the right move, but that isn't the point. I spent the last 13 months with no vacation. I had vacation time, but there has been so much going on in taking over the operation that I just didn't have time. I am a big family man and usually make time for such things, but in reality it just wasn't possible this past year. Of course, part of being a family man is making sure they eat, and since I can't break them of that habit then my work sometimes has to take priority.

This year, I decided to take vacation time at Christmas, and am back at work today after seven straight days of almost uninterrupted family time. It was great and I am working two days and then off for four more. I am always afraid to be gone too long other wise someone will realize that they don't really need me.

So I left at lunchtime last Wednesday. Thursday night left my entire city without power for about four hours because of some 50+ MPH winds and storms. I personally loved it. No television or computers, and I broke out my backpack and my camping stove and cooked dinner over a one burner propane stove. I popped out some chemlights (those glow in the dark things you get at amusement parks. If you have kids, go to Walmart and get some. They are $1.88 for two, and they glow for 12 hours. When the power goes out the kids love them, and don't burn up your flashlights. They are also great treats once in a while when they are bored and they love to play with them and take them to bed with them. I keep a dozen pair of them in my pack for camping and for the house) That weather knocked down four trees on my property - four trees that were in excess of 50 feet tall. One of them took out my neighbors fence. We discovered them Friday afternoon, so my Saturday was spent playing lumberjack and repairing fence. Anyone need 220 feet of pine?

The rest of Saturday was hanging around the house and cleaning for our parents arrival. Sunday we spent picking up the last few items for Santa, and shopping at Costco.

Sunday brought Connie's parents, and Monday brought mine. Cooking, cleaning and eating were the orders of the day. Then, of course, was Christmas and hours of wrapping undone in less than 30 minutes.

It was wonderful. It was great family time and probably the best Christmas we have had in years. No one was stressed (we shopped almost exclusively online, wrapped Saturday and Sunday and didn't have to stay up all night, and my wife had everything just perfect for entertaining). The kids even worked really hard to clean the house without whining too much.

A good kick-off for a new year! By the way, Auburn plays Clemson New Year's Eve at 7:00 pm Central Time. I won't bombard you with my pre-game week as I did in November, but I am sure it will come up a time or two. Auburn has a new O coordinator who lives by the spread. It will be a great game.

I will return to serious posting soon, but at the moment I am in too good a mood to ruin it....