Don't Forget to Count and Other "Must" Dos During the Holidays

Whew! Our family (and I hope yours too) made it through a lovely holiday; filled with memories and, according to our younger daughter, Mia, only one and one-half tantrums. 

As is our tradition, our family goes about the table, taking turns, and states what each of us is grateful for this Christmas day. By the time we sat down to dinner, I had had two different Cosmopolitans and was halfway through a delicious Californa Old Vine Zinfandel from our favorite winery... I'm thinkin 'All is good. All is well. All is calm' I'm feeling pleasantly relaxed from a midday nap... My rib roast was a thing of beauty and I remembered to put ALL the food I had prepared on the table. THIS in and of itself is a big accomplishment! I came away from Christmas Dinner preparation with only one injury (I may have gotten my hand a bit caught in my mixer) but no, count them, NO cuts!  

I begin the "gratefulness" rotation which begins after we say "Grace" and pop our Christmas crackers. I manage to hold the family off from the food when Mia whips out this zinger from nowhere! O. K. OK. OKAY! I may have had a bit of a breakdown somewhere between the Christmas Stollen and the cheese tray BUT, I was not prepared for Mia to have noticed much of what was going on in her surroundings. Like most teenagers, her head is buried deep, deep in her phone most of the time. She does not seem to be paying much attention to her surroundings. Well, dear readers, she is and she was! Kids forget that parents get tired and need to let off some steam now and again. Parents forget kids are paying attention.  We grown ups sometimes forget the "count to three" or "count to forty-seven" if needed (and you're married to my husband) before we react. Why? Because we are this strange creature called a "human."

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This year, the day after Christmas, Boxing Day, I prepared a brunch for a lovely family. I wanted to surprise them with fresh pastries and scones. I wanted them to experience Eggs Benedict and savor every mouthful of that elegant dish from the play of egg yolk and Hollandaise to the salty Canadian Bacon and crispy, buttered English Muffin. My husband, Russell, used his mad knife skills to create swirls of pineapple and to chunk the mango. Blueberries were washed. Champagne was poured and coffee brewed. I felt priviledged to share in this lovely family's tradition of Boxing Day Brunch.

Food can do that don't you think? Enhance most any tradition. The food could be something as elegant as a Champagne Brunch or as simple as freshly popped and buttered popcorn so long as the yummies are shared with those you love. 

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