Tis The Day After Christmas

Tis the day after Christmas and all through the house, not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse; well except for Uncle Bubba of course. Actually, Sweet Pea was up and early this morning to go in to work so Bubbie is sitting in the quiet at is kitchen table alone, sipping coffee and gazing out the window. The energy of the day before still lingers in the air and as he looks around the place the Christmas tree looks dark and tired after doing such an admirable job. Bubbie smiles because he can still see it lit up and glowing brightly the day before with all of the shiny, colorful presents encircling it's base and spilling out into the room. It was so pretty before the kids arrived and tore thru the gifts like a school of piranhas. There was a whirlwind of colored shards of ribbons and papers and little arms and fingers spinning around in the air over a high pitched sound of excited little voices and within minutes they had laid waste to the hours of preparing and wrapping. As the storm settled they looked around, still on the high of their frenzied avariciousness until their big smiles and wide eyes returned as they were reminded that they still had to empty their stockings on the mantel that Santa had filled. They all leapt to their feet and dashed off to find the last of the unopened gifts yelling, "Which one is mine?"

Uncle Bubba looked over at the kitchen sink and thought to himself, "I need to finish washing all of the pots and pans and get them put away for Sweet Pea today. That sure was some good food that Sweet Pea spread out yesterday. Man, did I ever eat too much!" There was a prime rib, a stuffed turkey breast, candied yams, mashed potatoes, green beans, and dinner rolls. She set out a pumpkin and pecan pie for dessert. Bubbie ate himself miserable!

Bubbie draws another sip of his hot, black coffee and feels a sense of relief that it's all over and life will go back to it's more mundane routine. He thoroughly enjoyed the holiday and received his only wish of being home with the family and especially Sweet Pea, but there's something about the endless celebration and anticipation leading up to Christmas that wears a body out. In Bubbie's view, he likes a nice break between Thanksgiving and Christmas. As he turns his gaze back out the window he appreciates the idea of the 12 days of Christmas; yeah, who ever came up with that knew what they were doing.