Finally

 Winter break is here! No more teaching! No more books! No more student's empty looks! Well, they are not all that bad but there are a couple I often wonder.

Christmas approaches and Jared remains at home. I hope saying that does not curse it. We have not enjoyed a holiday together this year so we are timidly looking forward to this one. Monday may see a short trip out until Wednesday but short trips have often morphed into long trips. We are holding our breath.

Our tree for the year is beautiful. This is why having someone else do the tree for me is an appealing idea. Storing the ornaments to use only once per year is a bit much. We have certain ornaments that we keep but it is not near what is on the tree. We do save some space though. Mizu is like any cat and plays with anything low on the tree so we keep the bottom sparse with only a few baubles for her to bat around. It preserves the rest of the tree. June is fascinated by the tree. Especially when the house lights are off and only the tree is lit. She will watch the lights sparkle until she falls asleep. It seems the tree is a good baby sitter for when I need do some task about the house.

Shopping is done but we still await arrival of packages. We are guaranteed delivery before Christmas but I believe everyone knows the anxiety of arrivals being so close. We (I) should have ordered them sooner. It is only that I did not see them sooner. One of the packages is a diaper bag for Jared. He does not care for the "girlie" bag I carry so I have gotten him a "tactical diaper bag" from Tactical Baby Gear so he does not somehow feel emasculated carrying mine. I have warned him though; it will be his responsibility to maintain the supplies in his bag. 

Here is crossing fingers hoping Jared's trip out will return as scheduled and he remains home until after Christmas, though after the new year would be better.