We don't have a chimney, but the front door worked fine

Santa came a callin'.
Yep, he came right to my house for a visit with my family and me, and it made my day -- my season.
Why?
Because the four "Very-Happy-To-See-Santa" children and 13 crazed adults (all of whom acted like children when they saw Santa come through the front door) put a huge smile on my face.
Their happiness filled my heart with joy.

Even though my husband pretends to be the original Scrooge, look at that smile on his face.
And he's happy for all the same reasons.
Laughter, whether from a child or an adult, is not only contagious, but it's good for the soul. For Christmas this year, laughter became my weapon against falling prey to that hole burning in my heart. As Charlie Chaplin said, "Laughter is the tonic, the relief, the surcease for pain."
Gosh, was he right.
Thanks to my husband, my son and his wife;
To my younger sister, her husband and their youngest daughter - all three of whom took over the kitchen;
To my cousin (whom my mother thought the world of), his wife, their two sons and their wives and each of their four children;
And to Santa and Mrs. Claus
For helping me get through to the other side of Christmas, not in sadness, but with fond memories and new traditions in the making. I'm hopeful that this gathering of family is the beginning of many more to come.

And guess what?
Remember how worried I was at Thanksgiving about who was going to make the gravy?
Well, my mother came through this Christmas and channeled through me.
I made gravy for the first time in my life. Not just any gravy, but Julia's really good gravy. I don't eat gravy. I don't even taste gravy. But, apparently, I did pay close attention to how she made it, because my husband, my son and his wife all said it was good, and they all had seconds.
Hmmm...

Thanks, Mom. I look like a hero.