All the Joy in a Simple Photograph on Christmas Morning. Papi, Chitunga, & the Monster Pup In-Between.

I keep forgetting that we were not able to gather last year due to Covid and all our festivities were hosted online. Therefore I forgot that we opened our gifts at the Homefront during the morning. Mom got her pajamas, dad a new pair of sneakers (not the hand-me-downs he's been taking from me for years), and Chitunga got luggage, apartment toys, clothes, and gadgets. Karal was in between wanting to be center of it all, always seeking a bag for herself.

I think we can officially declare an ending to the food festivities, where every plateful is a bit too much, even though each bite is absolutely delicious and you don't want it to end.

Christmas Day at the Crandall house is quiet. Everyone is in a coma of exhaustion, and the Barnwell breakfast affair puts the stomach over the edge. Delicious, but an extreme desire to go home, get under the blanket for the day, and simply fall asleep for a long, long time. 

I did well in the gift department this year: Grogu ornament, a robot vacuum, and several pieces of wall art made from photographs of the last year. I'm good to go, but I need to quickly reconfigure my mind to the University service that needs to be done before the semester kicks back off. 

But for now, I have Chevy Chase Christmas Vacation to keep me thankful. I forgot about how awesome squirrels are. 

Morning toast. A dusting of snow on the ground. Cups of coffee. We're all good. We're all thankful. We're all blessed. Who could ask for more?