There's No Place Like Home For The Holidays

This time of year is hard on me.  I freely admit that.  While I love Christmas with all its rich traditions and the true meaning of the season, I'm usually exhausted by the time the blessed day arrives.  My parents divorced when I was seven years old, and I got used to celebrating most of the holidays twice.  Christmas was never a big issue because my dad's family holds to the Scandinavian tradition of celebrating on the twenty fourth, so my sister and I always went with him to my grandparents' house and celebrated there, then came home, stayed up late together watching the old Alistair Sim version of A Christmas Carol together, went to bed and then woke up and spent Christmas Day with our mom.  Growing up, we had it made!

Now, I find myself married and in the beginning, working in one extra Christmas celebration wasn't too bad.  After I got married, both of my parents remarried as well.  We've also been thrown work parties into the mix.  My husband has three siblings with birthdays in December and my sister's birthday is a few days after Christmas as well.  December is now an incredibly busy month for us.  There's no weekend that doesn't include a party or two.  This past weekend we had my dad and stepmom's big family celebration on Saturday and my stepdad's big family shindig was on Sunday.   Christmas Eve will find us with my dad, stepmom and sister while Christmas Day will find us with my husband's family and in the afternoon we'll join my sister at my mom and stepdad's house. 

There's also the fact that we need to go and shop for gifts for all these parties as well.  That has left us very little time at home.  This evening, Bunny let me know in no uncertain terms that I needed to be at home with her.  As I sit here writing, she sits with her paws hanging on to my leg and her head on me as well.  Lilac has been over, laying her head on my arm as she stands beside me (although I did have some Christmas cookies at the time).  Blueberry came over to wipe her snot off her nose on my arm numerous times.  It's as if they can't believe that I'm really home tonight.  I confess, being at home with them tonight is much better than going to the movie we were thinking about going to see. 

As we sat at my mom's house this afternoon, I watched her two dogs.  They aren't well-behaved.  The more they barked and threw tantrums, the more I wished for the quiet of home and my own hounds.  It's nice during the hustle and bustle of the holidays to be able to relax a bit at home with those who love you the most.  There's nothing like the greeting of a dog who's missed you, no matter how long you've been gone.  Sitting on the couch with my hound is better than any tub full of Calgon.  That's the best gift of the holidays as far as I'm concerned.

There's No Place Like Home

Today I went back to work after our three week break, and I have to say, it was a nice return. The kids were happy to be back to school (one of the reasons I love Pre K) and my teaching partner and I were both well rested and refreshed as well. I got some very exciting news last night that made it a bit hard to go to sleep, but I still managed to wind down and realize that this is the first time I've been excited to go back to school in about a year. Still, it was hard to leave the dogs behind this morning. Hawk and Lilac are older and I worry about them a little. Blueberry likes to have her own bit of time together, but she really prefers to be with people on her own terms. Bunny, however, practically held on to my leg and begged me not to go. It was a sad sight to be sure.

Still, the best part about going back to work today was coming home tonight. There's nothing like the greeting of happy hounds at the back door. I got fanfare from the kids at school when they saw me to be sure, but it was nothing like coming home to loyal hounds who were elated by my return. The girls ran to greet me at the back door, tails wagging and feet tap dancing on the linoleum while Hawk barked at me from the living room.

They all have their own little rituals. Blueberry has to be the first at the back door, her head wobbling like a little bobble head, always waiting to be the first one spoken to and petted. Lilac stands on the step, ears raised to inquisitive half mast as she barks a deep bark that would make any robber wet his pants, even though what she's really saying is "I've been waiting all day for you!" She bats her big brown eyes and waits for me to scratch her behind the ear. Bunny holds back, but then can't contain herself any longer. She pushes her way through to get to me, sometimes walking under Blueberry if she has to. Then she stands before me, all wiggles until I pet her, then she's off like a shot through the kitchen to the living room. Hawk barks at me and then I let him out and he runs a half circle around me, pausing to lean his large frame against my leg and gaze up at me with his soulful eyes. Then Bunny explodes in her little dance of joy, running around the living room, over the couch and pausing there, begging me to sit down for just a second so she can press herself as close to me as possible and twisting herself like a pretzel so that she can lean her body against me and have her belly rubbed at the same time.

Of course, this only lasts for a few minutes and then the fanfare is over. The demands for bathroom breaks and dinner ensue and I'm relegated back to my status as servant to the hounds. Still, it's all worth it for those golden moments of arrival!