A Very Married Christmas: The Week In Review

This week was a relative vacation compared to the last few.

There were no practices, no games, no quizzes, no tests.

Meanwhile, there were gifts aplenty.

The department went out to lunch at Jim's Steakhouse. The boss got us a gift certificate to Avanti's, my favorite restaurant, and Dena and I capitalized for a quiet dinner together en route to Mom's house for Christmas Eve. The McFamily exchanged comforters, baseball caps, DVDs, duffel bags, Verizon GCs, books and other goodies. Back down south the Frymily watched a generation of kids swap gifts that they'd "bought" each other, before participating in a mildly ruthless gift card grab game.

Then there were the subtler gifts that are there year round.

Three generous and spirited parents.

Seven siblings, all in happy relationships.

Two healthy bodies and solid jobs with friendly co-workers.

And zero inches of snow is just the capper for this boy of summer.

The team at the office is holding their own during some uncertainty. Which big 2012 projects will stay, and which will go? How can we handle employee turnover and get the job done? At the moment, fortunately, we have confidence thanks to our management to succeed. It's a truly fortunate situation that deserves a tankful of thanks.

We spent today playing with our stuff. Dena sweatin' to the urgings of a young man on the kettle bell exercise DVD. Me spraying on new cologne and preening outdoors in a snazzy leathery jacket suggesting that I have at last graduated from eighth grade.

The present is always enough of a present, but receiving and giving presents sure gives it an extra peaceful presence. And the future is bright not only meteorologically as the daylight hours stretch longer, but also because Dena's arranging for Jack and me to head off to Mesa, Arizona to take in the Cubs' spring training for a few days in late March.

Here's hoping that your last week of 2011 is filled with the kind of outer and inner warmth that has graced us so far!