Us

Julien woke up the day after Christmas, came down stairs and stood wide eyed in his doggy footy pajamas and tufted blond hair in front of the christmas tree and said "Where are all the presents Mama?"  A hint of betrayl was in his raised voice. The day before he was overhwhelmed by gifts.  It had been an ordinary day for him.  Why were there no gifts today?   Isn't this the norm now?

Christmas came and went though we all were completly ill.  I was so feverish and sick that I stayed home from the Christmas eve service and Jorg went alone with the boys.  I lit my own silent night candle and was aware of how truly silent it was in my house.   Our vacation is coming to an end and we have been skiing once and to the movies once and watched a snow storm cover our house.  We all have had fevers and drippy noses.  We have played legos and board games and taken whiny baths.  We have bumbled around and around this small house together and though it wasn't what we planned it has been quite cozy.  This is how we make a family.  We eat odd dinners together of eggs and frozen pizza because nobody wants to cook.  We live out of the ordinary for a few weeks.  We break the much established rhythm.  But what holds us through this odd and broken time of unusual nap times and lunches of blueberries and rasins is us.  We are the rhythm.  The only constant is that it is still us....the four of us here padding about the house in our jammies and new hoodies. 
When all else falls apart at least we have that.