It was a good Christmas for us. We closed the business Christmas Eve and Christmas Day giving us an unusual 3 day weekend. Also time to finish up the shopping, decorating and preparations for the Christmas dinner. We went to an "All Class Happy Hour" Thursday evening. Saw a few members or my class and other people that I knew from other years. Since Gerard High School has been closed over 20 years, it is hard to keep people connected.
We went to church and it wasn't as crowded as I expected. The priest who said Mass, Fr. Joe, was a military chaplain for years. At the end of the service he made a comment that took me by surprise. He said that 10 years ago he had been a chaplain in Afghanistan and had said Christmas Mass for the troops. He then said that after 10 years there, the situation hasn't changed. You could hear his voice waver a bit as he repeted the statement. It makes me wonder why we are there.
Christmas day was great. There were 5 grandchildren there with their parents. It was fun watching them open the presents. The highlight was when I turned the ipod on and played "Jingle Bells" After about 4 bars all 5 started singing and went on for 4 or 5 choruses. It was not planned, but we all enjoyed it. We then had a dinner that was fit for a king. Then we sat, talked and watched football until late in the evening. A perfect ending for a very special day.
I hope yours was as good
