Merry Christmas!

Christmas is a sneaky little bugger. Throughout the year, I occasionally comment that Christmas will be here tomorrow. Typically this comment comes out when someone talks about how fast time goes (or is going). So even though in May, I will tell you that Christmas will be here tomorrow, I am still astounded at how fast the holiday sneaks up on me....I mean, it's going to be here next week!

I know I should not be surprised. We got our tree November 28th, I've watched just about every Christmas movie possible, and all the presents are bought and wrapped...but I guess when I finished the quarter this week, I didn't realize that there were only 6 or 7 days till Santa came a calling.

As with most people, I love this time of year...the movies, the music, the trees, the lights, the endless supply of goodies, but most of all the goodwill and generosity of others. Sometimes it's hard to see through the craziness of the malls, the stress of getting everything ready, and the dour of the economy, but there is something inertly good about most people during this time.

A couple of nights ago I was watching the national news and they ran a story about children's (and adults) letters to Santa. This year, post office workers were reading a lot of letters (you know to filter them before they get to the big guy), and finding out that children were not asking for toys, but for clothes, and even food (cue Angela crying). Within minutes of the broadcast, ABC said they got a flood of emails and calls from viewers asking if they could be Santa's helpers for these children (cue Angela sobbing).  The thought of what complete strangers are willing to do for others, is always astounding. I hope it continues all year.

We hope you all have a wonderful holiday filled with love, joy, friends, family, good food, great wine, and lots of laughter!

Merry Christmas!

With love,

Ang & Ben

The Aftermath

Hands down--busiest quarter ever. Yet, probably also the most fulfilling--it's funny how those two typically go together. Besides teaching my own course, and the two papers that were finished and submitted for publication consideration, the general exams took over my life. I turned them in yesterday with a few hours to spare, and although I typically feel anxious about turning in final projects, this time I just felt done. I walked off UW campus and felt overwhelming tired. Hopefully they went well, but I guess I won't know until January.

Until then, I have promised myself that I will not think about my answers--in fact, what is uncharacteristically weird, is that I have not thought about anything. It's like my mind has gone completely blank. Maybe it has just shutdown, in an effort to rebuild and reboot later on. What I am most happy about though, is the reclaiming of the house. Here is what the study table (or the dining room table) has looked like for a few months:

Although they cannot all go back to the library at once, the returning has already started. Bring on the Christmas movies and couch time!