Merry and Blessed

Bryan and I are in the midst of preparing a big Christmas eve feast for our girlies, my folks, his mom, lovely cousin Erin and fiancé Ben, and our dear friends Julie and Tim. Bing is crooning in the background, the candles are flickering, Bryan's completed step one (of 45!) toward the successful (hopefully) execution of the Boeuf Bourguignon, I'm gearing up to make Alice Waters' (awesome) cranberry upside-down cake, and the girlies are, well...bickering like it's their job.

I'm tempted to be hugely annoyed with them for breaking the otherwise festive and peaceful vibe I'm trying to rock, but then I remember...

My girlies are here, with me.

As my friend Galit reminds me, " I can hold my child tight and hug and kiss him every single day." I can delight in them, laugh with them, be totally and completely annoyed with them. They are the ultimate gifts, the good and the not so good moments equally poignant and special. And I every time I find myself forgetting that, my mind goes to the parents in Newtown, and I am humbled.

So on this Christmas eve, I am grateful beyond words. I am reveling in gratitude.

Happy holidays friends.