We had just had our first significant snowstorm and the next day my son Alex and I decided to take a drive down to the beach to see the snowy dunes.

We’d stopped on the way to pick up some breakfast sandwiches. With the smell of bacon, egg and cheese bagels filling the car we headed for the beach.

Before we parked we made sure we had a good view of the dunes, with the ocean waves crashing in the background. Leaving the car running with the heat on low we began to unwrap our sandwiches.

That’s when a car whizzed past us and came to a screeching halt several parking spaces ahead of us.

Alex and I looked at each other. “Well someone’s in a hurry to get to the beach.”

We watched as a woman jumped out of the car. She adjusted her knit cap with the furry pom-pom on top before raising her arm and snapping a picture of herself standing next to her car.

I started to laugh. “Oh, it’s going to be one of those.”

Alex just shook his head. He looked at the clock on the dashboard. “It’s 11 o’clock. Let’s see how long she stays.”

We watched her walk the path through the dunes stopping every few seconds to snap a picture of herself, trying different angles to capture herself in the snowy scene.

When she finally disappeared from out view we continued eating, watching the wind blow through the dune grass and the waves crashing against the shoreline, grateful to be in our nice warm car.

“You know,” I looked over at Alex. “I can’t believe how many times we’ve watched people come down to the beach and not actually enjoy it but snap a few pictures of themselves and leave.”

Alex shook his head. “It’s weird.”

Suddenly our selfie lady was sprinting back up the dune path headed for her car. Alex looked back at the dashboard clock. “11:04.” He looked over to me. “Seems about right.” He started to laugh.

We watched as she got back in her car and turned on the engine.

“I’m sure she’s blasting the heat right now, trying to thaw out her hands.” Alex picked up his water bottle and took a sip.

I shook my head. “You know she’s going to spend more time cropping, getting the right filters and thinking up hashtags for her Instragram account than she actually spent at the beach!”

Alex took a bite of his sandwich and I could see he had a thoughtful look on his face. “So are you thinking she’s going with #longwalksonbeach or #clearingmymind?”

I had to laugh. “I was thinking #beachlife.”

We watched as she put her car in drive and sped off.

“Where do you think she’s headed now?” I asked as we saw her break lights disappear around the corner.

Alex shrugged his shoulders. “I’m going to say Starbucks for her next Instragram worthy picture.”

“The one where you snap a picture of the cup in front of your steering wheel!” I had to laugh myself. “With a #startingtheweekend!”

Alex smiled as he took another sip of water. “Yup, that’s the one.”

It was a dreary morning as I was sitting on the couch, sipping a cup of tea, looking out the window.

My son Alex walked into the room. “Morning! What are you up to today?”

“Not that.” I said as I pointed out the window.

Alex came over to see what I was pointing at. “Wow! It’s like everyone in the neighborhood is outside!”

“Jogging no less!” I looked over at Alex as I tucked the blanket around my legs. “It’s not even nice out.” I leaned over and put my tea cup on the coffee table.

“Is it raining out?” Alex leaned closer to the window to see if he could see any drops in the puddles.

“It stopped about twenty minutes ago.” I pointed my thumb toward the window. “But these crazies were running in the rain, too.”

Alex laughed. “Hey, maybe they all did New Year’s resolutions. If that’s the case I’m glad they’re sticking to it.”

I shook my head. “New Year’s resolutions are such a rookie move.”

“Rookie move?” Alex called over his shoulder as he went into the kitchen to make his coffee.

“Sure.” I got up off the couch and grabbed my mug. “Everyone’s thinking about losing weight after the holidays. But it’s only the first week.” I grabbed the kettle and went to the sink to fill it with water. “Just wait.” I put the kettle on the stove and turned it on. “Just wait until February. None of them will be out there then.”

“Because there’ll probably be snow and ice on the ground.” Alex went and got the milk out of the refrigerator to pour into his cup.

“Exactly!” I nodded. Grateful that he realized their rookie mistake. “They should have started their exercise program when it was warmer out.”

Alex looked at me confused. “Who’s to say they won’t use a treadmill when it gets cold out?”

That made me stop for a moment. “Wait.” I looked over at Alex. “They can’t all have treadmills at home.”

“Why?” Alex shook his head. “We have one.”

“Well, that’s different.” I took a tea bag out of the box and placed it in my cup. Then began pouring hot water over it. “Because I never use ours.”

Alex started to laugh. “But Dad and I do all the time!”

“They can’t all have treadmills!” I cried.

Alex took his phone out of his pocket. “Let’s look it up and see.” He began typing and handed me the phone when an article came up.

I began to read out loud. “Home fitness gear surges during pandemic.” I read further down. “Are you kidding me!” I cried as I pointed to the article. “Sales of treadmills went up 135 percent!”

Alex grabbed his coffee cup and headed for the living room. “Told you.”

I was right behind him with my cup of tea. We stood next to one another taking small sips and looking out the front window as even more joggers went by.

“Stupid pandemic.” I looked over at Alex and shook my head. “I guess I’m going to have to start using our treadmill now.” I sighed. “But I’m not going to be jogging!”

“Well, that’s it.” I sighed as I looked around house.

My son Alex came into the room. “Who are you talking to?”

I sighed again. “Myself. I just finished putting away all the Christmas decorations and now that the New Year is here I’m faced with this.”

Alex looked confused. “Faced with what?”

I waved my hand around the room. “Nothingness.” I looked over at Alex. “Did you hear that?”

“What?”

I shook my head. “I swear it echos in here now that it’s so bare.”

Alex laughed. “Just think, it’s only eleven weeks until spring!”

I cringed. “That’s not making me feel better at all.” I looked out at the gray sky. “Why can’t we hibernate in the winter like my little chipmunk friends?”

My husband Steven walked into the room. “Hey, you got all the Christmas decorations down.”

He looked over at me. “You made it a really nice Christmas for us.” He leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.”

“It was a nice one.” Alex chimed in. “Thanks.”

I sighed again. “You’re welcome.”

Steven looked at Alex then back at me. “What’s wrong?”

“Mom wants to hibernate like the chipmunks until spring.”

Steven started to laugh.

“I’m serious.” I said. “I’m tired, the weather stinks, it’s getting too cold out, and spring is eleven weeks away!”

Steven patted my upper arm trying to make me feel better. “Weren’t you kind of hibernating yesterday?” he asked.

Now I was confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Didn’t you spend the day on the couch, under a blanket reading and sewing?”

I smiled at the memory. “That was like a little slice of Heaven.”

Alex looked over at me. “Remember we ordered dinner and Dad and I went and picked it up?”

“Oh, yeah!” I couldn’t help but smile. “That was a perfect day. I finished my book, took a nap and had dinner brought to me.” I looked at Steven. “That’s the kind of hibernating I want to do! Why can’t the whole winter be like that!”

Steven tilted his head and raised his eyebrow. “Well, I’m not sure your job would agree with your winter plan.” Steven reminded me. “Your Christmas break is almost over.”

I frowned as I looked over at the couch. “Well I still have a few more days before I have to go back so I’m not wasting it.” I went over to the couch, grabbed the blanket and laid down. Reaching for my new book I adjusted the pillows behind my back and sank back into them. As I opened my book I looked over at my guys. “Which one of you wants to order dinner?”

Steven looked at Alex. “Pizza?” he asked.

Alex shrugged his shoulders. “Sounds good to me.”

“When it comes I want to eat it right here.” I reached over and tapped the coffee table. “Happy hibernation to me!”

My son walked into the living room where I was sitting on the couch working on my computer.

“Are you kidding me?” he laughed. “How many times are you going to play that song?”

I looked down at the video playing on my phone. “Hey, Little Drummer Boy is my favorite Christmas carol!”

“I can tell.”

He went over to the couch where my phone was laying and looked at the video. “Do you have it on a loop?”

“Oh, come on!” I laughed as I picked up my phone. “It’s not that bad.” I tapped the screen to pause the video.

Alex nodded. “True. It’s not as bad as a few years ago when you watched The Greatest Showman movie every night for months.”

“It wasn’t every night.” I laughed.

“Sure seemed like it to me.” Alex shook his head. “I couldn’t get some of those tunes out of my head the next day!”

“Exactly!” I cried. “That was a tough year at work. Whenever it started to feel like it was becoming too much I’d replay one of those songs in my head, and it would help make a tough day better!”

Alex nodded his head toward my phone. “So is that what you’re doing with this?”

I shook my head. “No, Little Drummer Boy is just a favorite.” I picked up my phone and looked at the paused video. “Have you ever heard of the band called for King & Country?”

Alex shook his head. “No.”

“Well, that’s the one I’ve been listening to this year.” I looked over at Alex. “I loved when Bing Crosby and David Bowie did a duet years ago.” I paused to think of what others I’d loved over the years. I held up my pointer finger. “I also loved when Pentatonix sung it. Both of theirs were more classic versions. But this one…” I tapped the screen again to continue playing and looked at Alex and smiled. “There’s just something about this one that I love.” I was moving my head to the beat of the music.

“I can tell.” Alex shook his head again. “Well, at least Christmas break will be over soon.”

I was confused. “What’s that suppose to mean?”

“It means that I won’t have to hear Little Drummer Boy forty times a day.” He turned to go back to his room.

I smiled as I watched him retreating down the hall. “Let’s see if that turns out to be true.” I whispered under my breath.

It was after dinner and I had just finished putting the last glass in the dishwasher. I looked around, checking to make sure the counter tops were clean, when I decided it was time to give myself a little treat. I reached into the cabinet and took out a small juice glass.

My son Alex came into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

“What are you looking for?” I asked as I stood next to him and took out the carton of egg nog.

Alex shook his head. “I don’t know. Just wanted to see what we had.”

I put the egg nog on the counter and went to the cabinet to get a small bottle of brandy. Then went over to the spice shelf and grabbed the nutmeg. “You know we literally just finished dinner.”

Alex closed the refrigerator and went over to the cabinet. “I know, but I’m still hungry.”

“Why didn’t you just have more dinner?”

Alex shrugged his shoulders. “I didn’t want anymore.”

I looked over at him. “You didn’t like dinner?”

“No. I’m not saying that.” Alex patted me on the shoulder. “I was just done having it. I’m ready for something else now.”

He watched as I poured a splash of brandy into the glass then filled the rest of the glass with egg nog and finished my creation with two taps of nutmeg. I held up the glass. “This is such a treat!”

Alex laughed. “I know. You’ve been giving yourself one of those treats every night for the past week!”

I laughed as I took a sip. “You’ve been counting?”

“I wasn’t until we were on a walk the other day and you were complaining that you’d gained a pound in the last week.”

I took another sip. “You know, you’re right.” I looked at the glass. “This is the only thing that’s changed in my diet.” I held it up to Alex. “But it’s so tiny.”

Alex grabbed the carton from the counter top. “Do you know what in this?”

I took another sip. “Besides yummyness?”

Alex laughed. “Is that even a word?”

“It is now.” I licked a few specks of nutmeg from the rim of the glass.

Alex began reading the ingredients. “Milk, cream, high fructose corn syrup, sugar…”

“Okay! Okay! I get it.” I put the glass down. “But it’s such a tiny glass.” I sighed.

“It’s 190 calories for a half a cup.” He looked over at my glass. “That’s at least a cup.”

“Fine.” I sighed again. “I guess giving myself a holiday treat should be over now.”

Alex shook the carton. “Really? There’s still more in here.”

I took the carton from him and put it back in the refrigerator. “That’s true. It’s not right to waste things.” I picked up my glass and drank the rest of it.” I went over to the sink to rinse the glass out before putting it in the dishwasher. “Let’s say my holiday treat is done when the carton is empty.”

Alex shook his head. “It’s up to you. You were the one complaining about gaining weight.”

“Hey, it’s the holiday season.” I turned around and leaned against the counter. “Losing weight is what January is all about.”

“Hey, I just got a message from Erica.” my husband Steven handed me his phone so I could read the text:

“Hi Uncle Steve! I always think about Aunt Kathy’s oatmeal cookies and how I used to bake them with her. It’s really one of my favorite memories. Is she willing to share the recipe with me? They are still the best ones I’ve ever had.”

I looked up from the phone. “Aw, I’ve finally become the Aunt that everyone wants recipes from before I kick the bucket!”

Steven started to laugh. “That’s what you took from that text?”

I shook my head and laughed. “No, I think it’s sweet that she has that as a favorite memory.” I got up to go to the kitchen. “I haven’t made them in so long I don’t even know where the recipe is.” I opened the cabinet and looked at the two overflowing recipe boxes along with cookbooks and stacks of papers with recipes written on them. Taking them all down, I dumped them on the counter.

“Well, let the search begin!” I sighed as I looked over at Steven, not feeling very hopeful.

I held up a piece of cardboard. “I remember when I asked my sister for her banana bread recipe and the only thing I could find to write it on was this piece of cardboard.” I placed it to the side of the pile and continued reading recipes that were written on scrapes of paper, napkins, even one on the back of an old Christmas card.

“I keep telling myself that one day I’m going to organize them all into one recipe file and get rid of this mess!” I pushed the pile of papers aside and grabbed one of the recipe boxes. None of the cards were in any type of order. Instead, cookie recipes were next to chicken recipes that were in front of crock pot recipes.

“This is going to take forever!” I cried as I flipped through the cards.

Half way through I pulled it out. “Here it is!” I held up the grease stained index card. “I can’t believe I found it!”

My son, Alex came into the kitchen. “What did you find?” he asked as he looked at the pile of papers scattered all over the counter top.

I held up the recipe card. “My oatmeal cookie recipe!”

“Are you making cookies?” I could hear the hope in his voice.

“No.” I shook my head. “Your cousin Erica wanted my recipe.” I couldn’t help but smile. “She said they’re the best ones she’s ever had.” I couldn’t help feeling a bit proud.

I looked over at Alex. “Do you remember when we used to bake cookies together?”

Alex shook his head. “Not really.”

“Oh, come on. We used to bake all the time when you were little.”

Alex was still shaking his head. “Nope. I don’t remember.”

“You and your cousin Erica are the same age.” I chided. “How come it’s a favorite memory for her and you can’t even remember it happening!”

Alex shrugged his shoulder. “Food’s never been that big a deal for me.”

“What if I said I was going to make a batch this weekend?”

Alex smiled. “I wouldn’t say no.”

Steven quickly chimed in. “Me either!”

I was curled up in a chair when I felt a blanket being placed on me. Startled, I realized I’d fallen asleep and sat up. “What time is it?” I looked at my son Alex who was still in the process of covering me.

“It’s only six thirty.” he said. “I thought you were trying to take a nap.”

“No, I didn’t want to fall asleep!” I looked outside and saw it was already dark out. I began to shake my head trying to wake myself up. “If I take a nap now I’ll be up all night.” I slid the blanket off of me and started to get up. “Did you eat dinner yet?” I couldn’t believe how hard I’d fallen asleep.

“Dad and I ate some leftovers, but we didn’t want to wake you.”

“Oh, okay.” I was feeling grateful that I didn’t have to cook. I went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door.

“Oh, good! You saved me some soup!” I took out the container of homemade chicken soup that friends of ours had made us. “This is perfect!” Pouring the soup into a bowl I placed it in the microwave to heat it up.

Turning around I leaned against the counter still rubbing the sleep from my eyes. “Between the weather, time change and work I feel like I’m always short on sleep.” I sighed.

“Dad and I were just saying the same thing.”

I looked at my watch, it was now six forty-five. “Well, if I push myself to stay awake for another three hours I can go to bed early and maybe make it through the night.”

The microwave beeped and I took out my now steaming bowl of soup. I grabbed a spoon from the drawer and headed for the dining room table.

While I blew on a spoonful of soup Alex sat down across from me. “Do you feel like playing backgammon?”

“Sure! My soup needs a chance to cool off.”

I pushed the bowl aside and we set up the board.

A few minutes into the game I sighed again. “Oh no.”

Alex looked concerned. “What?”

“I’m feeling a new surge of energy.” I shook my head. “That nap just ruined any hope for a full nights sleep.” I pulled the bowl closer and had a spoonful of soup.

It was my turn to roll the dice. “So now I need to make a decision.”

“About what?”

I looked over at Alex. “I have to decide what I’m going to do in the middle of the night. Am I watching a movie, a cooking show or tuning into a DIY channel.”

Alex laughed as he rolled his dice. Moving his pieces he landed on two of mine, taking them out of play.

“Or maybe you could Google backgammon strategies for the next time we play.” he said as he placed my pieces out of play.

“Hey! I’m just waking up from a nap! My brain’s a little foggy!” I cried.

Alex’s eyebrows went up. “Didn’t I beat you yesterday?”

“You’ve won the last four games we’ve played.” I laughed as I shrugged my shoulders. “But who’s counting?”

Alex started to laugh too. “Clearly you are.”

“Can somebody help me please!” I called from the top of the attic ladder.

My husband Steven came around the corner from the kitchen holding a plate of Thanksgiving leftovers in his hand. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“I was looking for some help bringing down the Christmas decorations.” I was sitting on the attic floor with my feet on the top rung on the ladder.

Steven held up his plate. “I was just getting ready to microwave Thanksgiving leftovers for lunch.”

My son Alex came out of his room and looked up at me. “What are you doing?” he asked.

I didn’t get a chance to answer before Steven said, “She wants to get the Christmas decorations down.”

“Now?” Alex looked at the plate his Dad was holding. “Hey, I was just going to go make a plate for lunch myself.”

They both looked up at me.

“Don’t you want to finish enjoying Thanksgiving?” Steven held up his plate again.

“I finished enjoying Thanksgiving yesterday.” I moved a few bins closer to the attic opening. “Now I want to get the Christmas spirit going!”

“Well, how about we compromise.” Steven handed the plate to Alex and reached his hand up for me. “What if we all enjoy the day after Thanksgiving lunch and after that we get the decorations down?”

I looked around at all the bins that surrounded me. “Well…”

“Come on, I’ll even make you a plate.”

I looked down at Steven’s extended hand and sighed. “I guess I can wait until after lunch.” I took his hand as he helped me down the ladder.

Alex was popping the plate into the microwave as I walked into the kitchen. I could see all the leftovers in their Tupperware containers, scattered along the counter top. Steven reached into the cabinet and took out two plates. Handing one to Alex, he kept the other one for himself and looked over at me. “What would you like?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess a little bit of everything.” I walked over to the dining room table and sat down. “Oh, maybe a little extra stuffing might be nice.”

Steven nodded as he loaded up my plate.

I looked out the dining room window watching the fall leaves swirl around in the air before settling into the carpet of leaves that covered the lawn.

I picked up my phone and began scrolling through my friends Thanksgiving pictures. “Do you know how many people have taken their Thanksgiving pictures in front of their Christmas tree!” I cried. “We’re so far behind in our decorating!”

I could hear the microwave beep. Steven took out the plate and walked over to me. “Let’s not worry about that right now. It’s not a competition.” He placed the plate in front of me as he took my phone out of my hand and placed it across the table from me. “How about we enjoy a little more Thanksgiving before we worry about Christmas?”

I sighed as I looked down at the plate heaped with all the Thanksgiving trimmings. “Well, I guess decking the halls can wait another twenty minutes.”

“Make it an hour and I’m all in!” Alex called as he pulled his plate out of the microwave.

I came hobbling into the house from the backyard, slowly making my way to the kitchen sink, when my son Alex came in the room and looked at my dirt covered hands.

“What have you been up to?” he asked.

“I just finished planting the 60 daffodil bulbs your Dad and I bought a few weeks ago.” I turned on the water and tested it to see if it was warm enough before soaping up my hands. “I can’t believe how sore my back is from crawling around planting them.”

Alex looked confused. “Didn’t Dad dig all the holes for you?”

I got the nail brush from under the sink and began scrubbing my fingernails. “He did, but that was a few weeks ago.” I stopped scrubbing and rinsed my hands. “They were all filled in with leaves from the few bad storms we just had.” I turned my leg so that he could see the wet, dirt caked knees of my jeans. “I felt like I was playing a one sided game of Marco Polo where I was calling out but no one was answering as I felt around looking for where the holes were!” I could see there was still dirt under my nail so I soaped them up again.

Alex laughed. “I’m still going to say Dad had the harder part, digging 60 holes with a post hole digger.”

I began shaking my head. “I’m not saying your Dad’s part wasn’t hard.” I examined my fingernails again, making sure all the dirt was gone before I turned off the water. “But he considers that his workout.” I reached over and tore off some paper towels. “I, on the other hand, prefer my workouts to not include me crawling around in woods.” I dried off my hands and tossed the paper towels in the garbage before twisting at the waist to loosen the tension in my back. “Ouch!”

Alex patted me on the shoulder. “Just keep thinking about how nice the yard will look next spring.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe that will take your mind off how your back feels right now.”

I turned around to look out the kitchen window. “That’s true.” I could see the patches where fresh dirt had been smoothed over the newly dropped bulbs along both sides of the path. “Now, lets hope we don’t get any critters digging them up this winter.”

Alex pointed to one of the areas I’d just planted and began to laugh. “What do you think that squirrel is thinking about doing?”

I looked over to where Alex was pointing and saw a squirrel, with an acorn in his mouth, began digging at one of my newly planted spots. “Oh, no you don’t!” I cried as I headed for the back door.

Alex was still laughing. “What are you planning on doing?”

“I’m going to cover the spots with some leaves and sticks!” I opened the door and began stomping my foot on the porch. “Shoo!” I called, as the squirrel looked over at me and didn’t move. I charged down the steps clapping my hands. “I said get going!”

As I got closer the squirrel scampered off with the acorn still in his mouth.

“Go hide your acorns somewhere else!” I called to him as I began kicking leaves and sticks over the spots.

Alex had come out on the deck to watch me.

Once I was done I began walking back to the porch. “A little camouflage might do the trick.” I said as I began to climb up the steps.
“Well, if you think that worked, I wouldn’t turn around and look if I were you.”

I stopped mid-way up the steps and sighed. I didn’t bother to turn around. “He’s back?”

Alex shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe a nice hot shower will make you feel better.”

I sighed again as I went into the house and headed for my bathroom. “We’ll just have to wait and see what happens in the spring.”

I was in bed, half asleep, when I heard our bedroom door open.

“Are you going to work?” my husband Steven whispered to me.

That had me bolt upright. “What?” I looked over at the clock on my bedside table. “Oh my gosh! I should have been up an hour ago!”

“I was wondering what was going on.” Steven stepped out of my way as I ran across the room to the bathroom.

“I can’t believe it!” I cried through the closed bathroom door. “I never heard the alarm go off on my phone!” I was splashing water on my face hoping that would help wake me up.

“That’s because you left your phone out in the living room last night.” Steven called through the door. “I heard the alarm going off when I went into the kitchen to make some more coffee.”

I came out of the bathroom and raced over to the closet. “I’m glad I showered last night!” I pulled the closet door opened and quickly grabbed the outfit I’d laid out the night before. “I’m supposed to be walking out the door in five minutes!” As I began pulling off my pajamas Steven headed for the bedroom door.

“I’ll make you a cup of tea to go!”

“Oh my gosh! You’re a life saver!” I called to him.

Once my clothes were on I was back in the bathroom to put my contacts in and make-up on. I realized I could simultaneously brush my hair and teeth, but looking in the mirror while I was accomplishing it wasn’t a very pretty sight.

Putting my shoes on as I hopped down the hall I saw Steven pouring my tea into a to-go cup. “You’re the best!” I said as I opened the refrigerator and pulled out the lunch I’d made for myself the night before. “This daylight standard time stinks!”

Steven was putting the lid on my cup as I tossed my lunch into my insulated lunch bag and opened the freeze to get the ice packs.

“Remind me, why are we still doing daylight savings time?”

Steven shook his head as he handed my my tea. “I have no idea.”

I grabbed the car keys off the counter, picked up my work bags from the foyer as Steven handed me my lunch bag and opened the front door for me.

Getting a quick kiss on the cheek I was out the door and headed for my car.

“Are you going to need a coat?” Steven called from the front door.

In my hurry out the door I hadn’t realized how chilly it was. “I’ll come back in for one. Let me put my things in the car.” I turned back to the car and saw that the windshield had a thin layer of ice on it. “Oh, come on!” I cried. “It’s not even winter yet!”

Tossing my things in the back seat I opened the front door, turned on the car and blasted the defroster.

As I walked back to the house, tea cup still in my hand, Steven handed me my coat. “Do you want to come back inside and wait for the windshield to defrost?”

I took my coat, slipping my arms through the sleeves. “I think I’ll just sit in the car.” I shook my head and took a sip of my tea. “Sitting in the cold might help wake me up some more.”

“Try and have a good day.” Steven said as I walked back to the car.

“It sure isn’t starting out very promising.” I sighed.