It was a grueling 364-day wait, (made slightly more bearable by the snow day that cancelled school on the eve of winter break), but somehow we made it to Christmas! For months and months, Genesee and I have been the hype crew, spreading anticipatory cheer like only a 5 and 8-year-old can, counting down the days until the most wonderful time of the year.

As tradition would have it, we made Christmas cookies with Grandma, participated in the meatball assembly line with Dad, enjoyed Grandpa’s signature Grasshopper shakes, and left out cookies for our main man, Santa.

It was the Christmas of Robux gift cards, Prime hydration drinks, Milwaukee Bucks paraphernalia, Apple watches and TVs, winter storm/blizzard warnings, hot chocolate mornings, and fireplace crackles all night.

It was Christmas, finally. And then it was December 26th.

And so the countdown begins again.