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Wonder Woman and I drove from a family celebration at her folks' house to my mom's on Christmas Eve, a two-hour trip. When we arrived, we spent about an hour visiting and giving reports on various family members. We also opened gifts. We gave mom a puzzle from her favorite company, one of several she received. She gave me a tech widget from my wish list (a dual hard drive bay). Wonder Woman got running socks from her preferred company, Injinji and a new robe. This morning I got up and hung out with Mom, answering tech questions, while Wonder Woman went on her run. When she returned, Mom made shrimp and grits, a Christmas tradition. She told us that she's been buying local shrimp from the same fisherman's family for 44 years.

We set out after breakfast to the home of my daughter and her family, a four and a half hour trip. As usual, Wonder Woman drove while I completed a couple of blog posts while we listened to various ultrarunning podcasts. I also may have taken a nap. I'm not sure. The weather was clear, and the sun was bright as we made our away across North Carolina's coastal plain and into the Piedmont. 

When we arrived, we unloaded gifts and carried them to the door, where my six-year-old grandson was delighted to see us. We spent the day visiting and responding to messages from our other kids and grandkids. We got a video of the youngest granddaughter, who was happy to demonstrate to her mother that yes, Santa will indeed bring more than one gift if you ask. Our oldest granddaughter gave the whole family a gift by waiting until today to announce that she had been accepted to her first choice for college, Mary Washington University in Virginia. 

We had one scare. Our grandson who has mobility issues, took a spill today and had to go to the emergency room. Luckily, the wait was not too bad, and he didn't break anything, so it worked out mostly OK. He's a stoic guy. One of the funniest moments of the holiday happened yesterday when he and I were in the living room of my mother-in-law's house. I thought I overheard Wonder Woman telling the story of one of my less than stellar moments from the kitchen, where she was making giant pans of lasagna with her sister. I asked my grandson, "Is you Nana talking junk about me in there?" He didn't crack a smile, but there was a gleam in his eye as he gave me three very solemn nods to affirm my suspicions.

Like many folks at my age, my greatest joy during the holidays is enjoying my family. A day like today was just about perfect. We had a fantastic Christmas dinner. We discussed the past and the future and laughed and laughed. My granddaughter made delicious deserts that fit everyone's diet requirements. For Wonder Woman and my daughter, that means gluten-free. For me, it just means that there is room on my plate.

In the coming days, I'll visit with my Dad to help him with some end of year computer tasks. I have family visiting from out of state, tickets for the new Bob Dylan biopic and reservations for a getaway in Savannah, Georgia before the New Year. My heart is full and I lack for nothing. Wherever you are, I hope you had the holiday you wanted and a time to enjoy whatever you enjoy. Merry Christmas from Wonder Woman and I!

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