“Okay, the new television is mounted on the wall.” My husband Steven handed me the new remote. “The only thing left is to program it.”

“What?” I looked at the remote in my hand and then back up at Steven. “You know I’m tech challenged!”

“You’ll be fine.” Steven assured me as he patted my shoulder and walked away. “It will walk you right through it!” He called over his shoulder.

I looked at the remote once more, sighed and clicked the power button. The first question it wanted me to answer was what language I wanted to continue in. I scrolled through my options. “Wait.” I looked back through my choices. “What’s the difference between Canadian English and United States English?” I mumbled to myself.

That’s when I knew I was in over my head.

“Chloe!” I called to my son Alex’s girlfriend. “Can you come help me?”

Chloe came out of the kitchen and I handed her the remote. “Can you set this up for me?”

“Sure, I can show you how to use it.” She took the remote and went and got comfortable in a chair.

“Okay.” I sat on the edge of the couch. “But, can you set it up first before you show me how to use it?”

“Of course.” She aimed the remote at the television and pressed United States English.

“What’s the difference between Canadian English and US English?” I asked.

She shrugged her shoulders. “Doesn’t matter to me.”

“See, that’s where I get in trouble.” I sighed as I picked up my phone. “I over think these things.” I went to Google to look up the difference. “Okay, so it’s basically the same except they spell a few words differently.”

Chloe nodded as the screen went on to the next question. “So what’s your wifi password?”

I had to laugh. “Not a clue on that one.”

Chloe got up and headed for the kitchen for a pad and pen. “I’m sure it’s on your router.” She headed downstairs. Once she got back she began putting in the password. “Okay, we’re connected!”

“Great! So it’s all done?”

The screen turned blue saying that it was checking for updates and then said it was downloading latest software.

“Not yet.”

It rebooted and then went back to downloading latest software.

“Wait!” I cried. “Didn’t it just do that?”

Chloe shrugged her shoulders. “There must be more.”

It rebooted again.

This went on several times more and I was beginning to get impatient.

“This is taking forever!” I cried leaning back against the cushions and staring up at the ceiling.

Chloe laughed again. “It’s almost done.”

I was still looking up at the ceiling. “Did I thank you yet for doing this for me?”

“You’re welcome.”

When I looked over at him he stopped and brought his hand closer towards my face. “Hold still.” he said.

It was first thing in the morning and my husband Steven and I were busy getting ready for work. I was standing in front of our closet, wondering what I was going to wear, when Steven came over and reached in to get his shirt off the hanger.

I instantly pulled away. “Why?”

Steven shook his head and laughed. “You know you have some serious trust issues.”

I held up one of my hands. “Hey, I just don’t like surprises.”

“You have an eyelash on your cheek.” He reached over and plucked it off my cheek. While it rested on his pointer finger he held it out to me. “Make a wish.”

I thought about it for a moment, silently made my wish and tried to blow the lash off his finger, but it didn’t budge. “Okay, that’s a do over!” I called as I reached over and took the lash off his finger.

Steven shook his head. “Nope. I’m pretty sure if you don’t blow it off the first time it means your wish won’t come true.”

I put the eyelash on the tip of my finger. “Well, I say it’s my eyelash and it should have been on my finger to begin with.” I blew it off and it quickly disappeared. “See! Now my wish will come true!” I smiled as I went back to trying to decide what to wear.

“Did you make a new wish?” He asked as he slipped his shirt on and began buttoning it up.

“No. It was the same as the first one.” I reached into the closet and pulled out a sweater and tossed in on the bed.

“It doesn’t work like that.” Steven said as he grabbed the hanger with his pants on it. “The lash never moved on that wish which means that wish was denied.”

I looked over at the clock on my bedside table and sighed. “Oh, great. I’m running late.” I pulled out a pair of pants and a shirt. “I can’t believe we’re arguing over an eyelash wish.” I slipped on my pants and reached over for the shirt. I quickly slipped it over my head and began fumbling to get my arms through the sleeves.

“It’s not arguing.” Steven said as he closed the closet doors. “It’s discussing the nuances of wish making.”

“So an eyelash wish is different than birthday candles?” I grabbed my shoes and headed for the bedroom door.

“Well, if you don’t blow all the candles out, in one puff, your wish isn’t going to come true either.” Steven was following me down the hall as I went into the living room.

Sitting on a chair I began to put on my shoes. “But if they don’t blow all the candles out, in one puff, nobody tells the birthday person that their birthday wish isn’t going to come true.”

“Well, of course not.” Steven was at the foyer closet getting his coat. “Nobody’s going to say that out loud. It’s the person’s birthday!” He looked over at me. “Do you have your car keys? I’ll start your car up for you.”

“Oh, thanks.” I took the keys from my pocketbook and handed them to him.

While he was outside I went into the kitchen to pack my lunch.

As I was putting my sandwich in my lunchbox my son Alex came out into the kitchen. “Hey, have you ever made a wish on an eyelash?” I asked.

Alex started to laugh. “I have.”

“So, if it doesn’t blow away the first time do you ever do a do over?”

“Sure.”

Steven opened the front door.

“Alex said it’s okay to do a do over!” I called.

Alex looked over at me and began to shake his head. “What did you just get me in the middle of?”

I reached and patted his arm. “No worries. You gave the right answer.”

I stood in the doorway of the laundry room, staring at the five different piles I’d made when my husband Steven walked by.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m decluttering.”

Steven pointed to one of the piles. “What’s the difference between the piles?”

I pointed to the pile closest to me. “Those are things to move to another room.” I pointed to the next pile. “Things to donate to charity.” I pointed to another pile. “Things to toss out.” I pointed to the next pile. “Things to give to a specific person and finally…” I pointed to the last pile. “Things I need to think over.”

Steven slowly nodded his head. “Why is the move to another room pile the biggest?”

I put my hands on my hips, tipping my head to the side. “Why?” I have to admit I was a little annoyed with that question. “This room is already the laundry room, my office, the sewing room, craft room, and wrapping station! It can’t be the dumping ground for everything!”

Steven looked surprised. “Hey, I was just asking a question.” He held his hands up as if he were surrendering.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have raised my voice.” I took a deep breath and took my hands off my hips. “It’s just that I’ve been working in here for the past two hours and I’m running out of momentum.”

“I get it.” Steven came over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “But exactly where are you planning to put the vacuum cleaner now?” He pointed back to the ‘move to another room’ pile.

“I thought we could put it in the guest bedroom closet.”

He looked over at the laundry basket filled with board games. “Where are they going?”

“We already have a cabinet that has board games in it. I was going to see if they fit in there.”

Steven nodded as he scanned the other piles. “So where’s the bag of books going?”

It was the only thing in that pile. “That’s the thing to give to a specific person.” I looked over at Steven. “Rosanne and I exchange books a few times a year. I was planning on calling her soon.”

Steven was still nodding his head. “What’s the clothes pile?”

“That’s things to donate to a charity.”

“Wait a minute!” He picked up a sweatshirt. “This still has the tags on it!”

I took it from him and tossed it back on the pile. “It’s been in here since we moved here six years ago. Don’t you think someone else could use it?”

Steven shrugged his shoulders. “I guess.”

He was scanning all the other piles. “Wait. What pile is the yarn in?”

“That’s the think-it-over pile.”

“Why?”

“Because I used to knit all the time but I haven’t in years.” I picked up one of the aqua colored skeins. “I just have to decide if I’m ever going to knit again.” I tossed it back on the pile.

Steven looked around the room again. “Seems like a lot of work.”

“It is.” I sighed.

He came over and gave me a hug. “What if I cooked dinner tonight?”

I couldn’t hold back my smile as I stepped back and clasped my hands together. “Really? I was just about to call it quits but that would give me the momentum to finish this project today!”

He smiled as he left the laundry room. “You’re welcome.” He called over his shoulder as he headed for the kitchen.

I walked up the front sidewalk of my house. I had an orchid cradled in the crook of my arm, my other hand up by the flowers to protect them from the wind.

I was struggling to get the house key out of my pocket when my son Alex opened the front door.

“Thanks!” I walked by him and placed the orchid on the side table in the living room. I stepped back to admire it’s placement then looked back at Alex. “Well, what do you think?”

Alex shrugged his shoulders. “It’s pretty.”

“I know!” I couldn’t help but smile as I unzipped my jacket and looked around the house. “Everything looks so depressing once the Christmas decorations get put away. So, I thought getting an orchid would give me something pretty to look at for the next few months.”

“That’s going to last a few months?” Alex asked.

“It should.” I tossed my jacket on the couch and went over to the plant. “That’s why I only buy them when most of the flowers haven’t bloomed yet.” I gently touched one of the unopened buds. “This one should definitely last a couple of months.”

I walked over to the hallway, where our bedrooms were, and turned around. “I miss December when I’d get up in the morning and your Dad would turn the Christmas tree lights on for me.” I pointed straight ahead. “ It was the first thing I’d see when I went to make my cup of tea. It was the perfect way to start my day.” I pointed over to the orchid. “Now, when I get up I’ll see that!” I looked over at Alex. “I’m hoping it will help me get through the rest of this winter!”

Alex looked confused. “But isn’t it dark when you wake up? I thought that’s why you liked seeing the tree lit.” He pointed over at the orchid. “You won’t be seeing that in the dark.”

“Oh, yeah.” I shook my head. “I forgot that part.”

My husband Steven walked into the room and saw Alex pointing to the orchid. “That’s pretty.” He looked over at me. “Did you just get that?”

“I did.” I went over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Did I thank you for turning the Christmas tree lights on for me every morning?”

Steven laughed. “You did.”

“Okay, great.” I stepped back and held my hands together in a pleading way. “Because I have another favor to ask you.”

Steven looked guarded. “Okay.” he said slowly.

“When you get up before me can you turn on the light next to the orchid?”

Steven look turned to confusion. “Sure. Why?”

“Because it’s going to be a long winter and I’d like to see something beautiful first thing in the morning.”

Steven started to laugh. “Well, I can fix that in another way.”

Now I felt confused. “How?”

“I can switch on the bedroom light when I get up and you can see me!”

“Are you nuts!” I cried. “You get up at like 5 o’clock in the morning! That’s over an hour before my alarm goes off!”

“Okay, fine.” Steven sighed. “I’ll turn the living room light on for you.”

“Thanks!” I gave him another kiss on the cheek. “Then when you come into the kitchen for your second cup of coffee I’ll see you then.”

I was sitting on the couch using my phone to skim through some articles on the internet when I came across one that caught my interest. “Okay, now I know what I have!” I called out to my husband Steven who was out in the kitchen making a sandwich. “I have all the symptoms!”

“What are you talking about? I thought you were feeling better.” he called back.

“I feel better from the cold I’d had but these other symptoms have been with me for a while now.”

Steven walked into the living room, a half of a ham and cheese sandwich in one hand and a glass of water in the other. He placed the glass on the coffee table and sat down next to me.

“What symptoms do you have?” He took a bite of his sandwich.

“I’m always ready for a nap.” I held up my thumb to show him how I was ticking off my symptoms. I held up my pointer finger. “Feeling stressed.” I looked over at him, raising my eyebrows. “That’s a big one for me.”

Steven nodded. “Okay.”

“Not being able to finish simple tasks.” I held up another finger.

“What simple tasks?” he asked as he reached for his glass and took a drink.

“Like unloading the dishwasher.” I shook my head. “I emptied the top rack but then I heard the buzzer going off on the dryer. By the time I folded the load in the dryer I just needed a quick break on the couch before even thinking about finishing the dishwasher.” I pointed to my phone. “That’s when I decided to start Googling my symptoms.”

“So what do you have?”

“I have low E.”

Steven looked confused. “What’s low E?”

“It’s low energy.” I looked over at him. “My energy is SO low that it takes too much time to say energy so they just say E.”

“So how do they say you fix it?” Steven took another bite, leaned back against the cushions and put his feet up on the coffee table.

“Well…” I skimmed the article. “Oh, wait!” I began shaking my head. “That’s not going to happen.”

“What?” Steven was trying to look at my phone.

“They say the best way to fight low E is to exercise.” I was still shaking my head. “I don’t have the energy for that!”

“They might have a point.” Steven tried to reason.

“Nope.” I clicked off my phone. “It’s the same in the beginning of every new year. They want you to join a gym or buy a new piece of exercise equipment.” I tossed the phone on the couch next to me. “Well, they’re not going to fool me!”

“But you have been exhausted lately.” Steven reminded me.

“That’s true but sometimes just knowing what you have makes all the difference in the world.” I leaned back against the cushions and looked up at the ceiling. “Maybe we should order take out tonight.” I turned my head to look over at Steven. “That might help my low E.”

On Christmas Eve I’d come down with a fever, so I put myself to bed and began taking Covid tests. After a few days, and several negative tests later, I felt like I was fighting a cold and could come out of quarantine.

A day later my son Alex and his girlfriend Chloe got sick. But when they took their Covid tests they both came up positive.

I was sitting on the couch listening to their persistent coughs in the other room.

“How are you doing it there?” I called to them.

“Hanging in!” Chloe called back.

“I think what we all need right now is for me to make a big batch of homemade chicken soup!” I grabbed by coat and car keys. “Anyone want anything else while I’m at the store?”

“Maybe some ginger ale.” Alex called. “My throat’s pretty sore.”

“Okay! Be right back!”

Wandering around the grocery store, collecting all the things I would need, I found myself in the soup isle ready to grab a few cartons of chicken stock. Next to the chicken stock I saw a box of chicken bone broth. Pulling both cartons off the shelf I tossed them both into my cart.

Once I was home I opened both containers and began pouring them into a pot. I could see the bone broth had a richer look to it than the stock.

When the chicken was finished cooking and was set aside on a cutting board to cool, I began chopping some carrots and celery.

My husband Steven came into the kitchen. “Already smells good in here!” he said as he walked by.

I held up the carton of bone broth. “Have you ever used this in any the the soups you’ve made?”

Steven looked over. “Sure. I used some beef bone broth in the beef stew I made last week.”

I tossed the empty carton into the trash and picked up the cutting board. Holding it over the pot I began pushing the carrots and celery I’d just chopped into the soup. “Well, this is the first time I’m using it. I hope it tastes good.”

“Of course it will. It also has more protein and minerals than regular stock has.”

Once the soup came to a low simmer I poured in some noodles, wanting them to absorb all the flavors.

“DINNER!” I called once the soup was ready.

Steven came in first. “Where are the kids eating?” He asked as he grabbed a bowl and went over to the pot to serve himself.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess they’re going to eat at the dining room table.”

Steven took his filled bowl, went to the drawer to grab a spoon and headed downstairs to watch television. “Good to know, I’ll be eating mine downstairs.”

Chloe and Alex came out of their room.

“Do you want us to wear masks?” Chloe asked as she stood in the doorway.

“You’re fine.” I placed two filled bowls on the dining room table along with some freshly toasted ciabatta bread. “You two eat in here.”

I went over and grabbed another bowl, filled it with soup for myself and headed for the living room.

“Hopefully, a couple of bowls of this will help get you both on the mend before the New Year!” I called over my shoulder.

“I’m feeling better already!” Chloe called.

“What about you, Alex?” I asked.

“I’ll keep you posted.” He said while he stifled a cough. He picked up his spoon and took a tiny sip of soup. “I do have to say this is making my throat feel better.” He took another sip. “Okay, I’m starting to feel some hope here.”

I tucked the last wrapped present under the tree and stood back to admire it all.

That’s when my husband Steven came into the room. He walked up next to me and put his arm around my waist. “You’ve really done a spectacular job again this year.” He said as he looked at the tree with me.

“Thanks. But it’s always around this time that I can’t help but think I’ve forgotten something.” I sighed.

“Hey, you can only do so much.” He reached over and adjusted one of the ornaments.

“I know. It’s finally time to say ready or not Christmas is here.”

“You’ve been making lists for weeks.” He reminded me.

“And yet there’s always something to add!” I sighed again.

“I think you’ve finally gotten to the point where it’s time to stop worrying and just sit back and enjoy all the work you’ve done.”

“You’re right.” I went over to the couch, sat down and put my feet up on the coffee table. Steven came over and sat next to me. “It is nice to just sit here and look at the tree knowing there’s nothing more I need to do.”

Our son Alex came into the room. “Well, I just finished wrapping the presents I got everyone.”

I pointed to our tree. “Are you going to be putting them under the tree?”

Alex shrugged his shoulders. “I’ll just keep them in my room until Christmas morning.”

I leaned my head back against the cushions. “You know I saw a post on Facebook that said you shouldn’t tell your kids that Santa gives them the expensive presents.” I looked over at Alex. “Because kids whose parents can’t afford to give expensive gifts think they’ve done something wrong when Santa only gives them something small or even nothing at all.”

Alex looked at me shaking his head. “Don’t worry I’m pretty sure Santa isn’t giving me anything this year.”

I had to laugh. “I’m not talking about you! It’s just that I never thought about that before.”

Steven started to shake his head. “Let me guess?” He patted my knee. “Now you’ll be feeling guilty about the presents Santa gave our boys?”

I tipped my head to the side. “Yeah. A little bit.”

“Don’t worry.” Alex came over and patted my head. “I don’t think any less of you for telling me Santa gave me my Game Boy twenty years ago.”

I had to laugh again. “Thanks.” I looked back over at the tree. “But I do look at what we have and I have to say I’m grateful.”

“Isn’t this the conversation we’re supposed to have on New Year’s Eve?” Alex asked.

“Any day is a good day to be grateful.” I reminded him.

“God bless us, every one.” Steven said.

I looked over at him while shaking my head.

“What?” Steven shrugged his shoulders. “I just thought it was a good time to quote from ‘A Christmas Carol’!”

I swatted him on the arm as I got up from the couch. “I’m going to go start dinner.”

It had been a long day at work. As I unlocked the front door my son Alex came out to greet me.

“How did your day go?” he asked.

I dropped my bags in the foyer and looked over at him. “I think I need a minute to meditate.” I said as I slipped off my coat and tossed it on the nearest chair and headed for my bedroom.

“I think that’s a great idea!” Alex called down the hallway.

“Just doing a little self care!” I called back as I closed my bedroom door. Slipping off my shoes, I took my phone and hit my meditation app. Laying down on the bed and grabbing a soft throw I settled back on my pillows and listened to the sound of the ocean waves rolling onto the beach.

Within seconds I could feel the day’s stress falling away as I slowly took a deep breath in and then exhaled.

It seemed like only seconds later I could hear my bedroom door being slowly opened.

“Everything all right in here?” my husband Steven asked.

“Just finishing up on a quick mediation.” I said as I sat up.

“I think you were sleeping.” Steven laughed.

I looked over at my phone and could see the ten minute meditation had run out. “Seriously?”

“I came in a while ago but you were sound asleep.”

I looked over at the clock and could see how much time had passed. “Wow! I guess I needed a quick power nap.”

Steven laughed again. “I’m pretty sure power naps are supposed to be around twenty minutes. You were in here over an hour.”

“Okay, fine.” I sighed. “I was out cold. But I feel better now.” I tossed the blanket off of me. “I’ll go start dinner now.”

“You don’t have to. I ordered Chinese food. Alex is on his way to pick it up now.”

I stopped and looked at him. “Really?”

“When I was in here earlier it didn’t look like you were going to be in the mood to cook tonight.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Alex and I were both in the mood for Chinese food so we thought we’d do the cooking tonight.”

“That is so awesome.” I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before I headed into the bathroom. “Thank you!”

When I went into the living room Alex was just coming in the front door holding up the bag for me to see. “Dinner’s ready!” He said as he went into the dining room.

I looked into the bag to see what they’d ordered. “Oh, my gosh! You got a ton of food! What were you thinking?”

“Leftovers for your lunch tomorrow.” Steven said as he began to unload the bag.

I looked over to see Alex getting the plates out of the cabinet and grabbing some forks and napkins.

“How’d your meditation go?” He asked as he put the plates on the table and handed me a napkin and fork.

I sat down in my chair and began pulling the lids off the containers. “Best meditation ever!” I said as I began filling my plate with beef lo mein. I looked over at Alex. “If this is what meditation is going to do for me I plan on doing it more often!” I couldn’t help but smile as I handed the container to Steven.

“We’re out of ice cubes!” my son Alex called from the kitchen.

I was grumbling under my breath as I went into the kitchen. “The ice maker not working is driving me nuts!” I sighed as I took the two ice cube trays from the freezer, twisted them to loosen the ice, and dumped them in the ice holder that was in the door of the freezer.

“Thanks!” Alex said as he pressed his glass against the lever and ice began tumbling out.

“When did this turn into my job?” I asked as I went over to the sink and began filling the now empty trays with water.

Alex shrugged his shoulders. “I keep forgetting about it. I just pushed the lever to get ice and nothing came out. I forgot we’re using trays now.”

I slowly walked the two trays back to the freezer and Alex opened the door for me. “Well, I guess it was worse when I was a kid.” I admitted.

“Why? What happened when you were a kid?” Alex asked as he went over to the sink and began filling his glass with water.

I’d spilled some water so I got a paper towel and began wiping it up. “Ice cube makers weren’t in the refrigerator yet.” I tossed the wet paper towel in the garbage. “We had metal ice cube trays stacked in the freezer but there really wasn’t anywhere to store the ice so, once you opened the tray everyone would take a few cubes out and toss the rest of the tray back in the freezer. Ice cubes would spill all over the place.” I shook my head and laughed. “It was just normal to go in the freezer, push a couple of loose cubes out of the way when you were on your way to getting the carton of ice cream.”

“That sounds gross.”

Now it was my turn to shrug my shoulders. “I’m pretty sure that’s why I’d rather not use ice in my drinks.”

Alex looked over at me with a confused look on his face. “I see you use ice in your drinks all the time!”

“That was before.” I corrected him. “When we had an ice maker. No muss no fuss.” I looked over at him and shrugged my shoulders. “Now that I’m the ice maker I think we’re all going to be cutting back on our ice use until everyone starts filling the trays.”

That’s when my husband Steven came into the kitchen. “Hey what’s everyone up to?” he asked as he opened the cabinet and took out a glass.

“I hope you’re not going to be filling your glass with ice.” Alex said.

Steven went over to the refrigerator and placed the glass against the lever to get ice. “Why are we out of ice again?” Ice cubes started tumbling out of the freezer door and landed in his glass. “There’s plenty.” He held up his glass to prove it.

“That’s because I’m the one filling the ice cube trays.” I complained.

Steven walked by and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. “You’re such a cute little ice maker.” He called over his shoulder as he headed to the sink to fill his glass.

I shook my head and laughed.

Alex looked over at me, a questioning look on his face. “So, are you over the ice tray problem?”

“I suppose.” I sighed then laughed. “Because I know neither one of you are going to remember to fill them.”

Alex smiled as he held his glass up. “See? You know us so well!”

When the bag that held our Christmas tree came down from the attic I opened it up and pulled out one of the limbs.

My son Alex’s girlfriend Chloe couldn’t help but laugh. “I think you need a new tree!”

“I know.” I sighed looking at the sad limb that barely had any needles left on it. “We’ve had this tree for over thirty years.” I tossed the limb back in the bag. “We meant to get a new one at the end of last year but I couldn’t find one I liked.”

“Let’s go look this weekend.” she suggested.

I looked over at my husband Steven and shrugged my shoulders. “What do you think?” I asked.

“I think it’s time for a new tree.” he said.

On shopping day we all headed for the nearest department store.

Chloe and I went ahead, wanting to scout out our favorite tree first.

By the time Steven and Alex got to the tree section Chloe and I had already decided we didn’t like any of them.

“Okay, I’m ready to go to the next store.” I said.

“Wait a minute.” Steven said. “What about this one?” He pointed to a tree that had the fullness I liked but was only five feet tall.

“I don’t know…” I sighed.

“I think it’s perfect.” Steven said. “We don’t need a huge tree anymore.”

“I guess.” I looked at the tag that hung on the tree and went to find the box that matched the number.

As I walked around the corner looking for the box the tree was in, Chloe came over to me. “But you don’t like that tree. It’s too small.” she said.

“I know but it’s the only one here that’s even close.”

“Wait, here.” She walked over to Steven as I peeked through the shelves to see what she was going to do.

I couldn’t hear what she was saying but within minutes Steven was calling over to me. “Let’s go look at another store and see if we can find something taller.”

I came around the corner, taking Steven’s outstretched hand and looked over at Chloe who mouthed “You’re welcome.” as she took Alex’s hand as we left the store.

The next store was where we found the perfect tree. A gorgeous seven and a half foot, pre-lit beauty.

Loading it up on the cart Steven pushed it to the check-out and minutes later we were loading it in the van and were headed back home.

Once we were home Steven and Alex began putting it together while Chloe and I began going through the decorations.

The next hour we were all decorating the tree while Christmas carols played in the background.

Once we were done and all standing back to admire our work I couldn’t help but look over at Chloe. “You know, this is the first time in years we’ve all decorated the tree together. It’s usually me doing it by myself.” I gave her a little hug. “It looks like you’ve replaced Alex as my new secret weapon.” I whispered.

We both looked over at Steven and Alex as they were making some final adjustments with the ornaments.

“You’re welcome.” she whispered back.