... when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse...
...except, of course, the Paternal Optimist, still busy wrapping presents at the very last minute.
Of course, when he was a nipper (long, long ago) the PO liked nothing better than to see piles of presents sitting under the tree a good week or ten days before Christmas - not only did this ensure a maximum number of opportunities to squeeze, prod and shake each present individually before the big day, but it was also essential to the build-up in anticipation, which had to be timed perfectly such that it reached the appropriately unbearable level to guarantee his waking up at five o'clock on Christmas morning, so that he and the young Missy could pad downstairs in pyjamas and bare feet for one final round of quality control testing before their bleary-eyed parents emerged from their slumbers.
Today, alas, there are no children in the house : the PO is staying with The Principal and The Recluse, and they will be joined for a suitably restrained and demure session of present-opening tomorrow by Missy and The Surfer Dude. As for the Boy Wonder, he will be at home participating in what will no doubt be an altogether more raucous gathering with the Mother Superior, the Laughing Buddha, Button and Schmoo.
Tonight, the PO will be making his first visit to the Palazzo Lovebird for a Christmas Eve feast. It doesn't look as though the long trek from West Norwood up to Crystal Palace will be made any more difficult than usual by snow. But spare a thought for Our American Cousins shivering in the mid-West, where I believe they have had almost a full year's quota of snow in only a couple of days this week - though that doesn't appear to have knocked the smile off the Champaign-Urbana Weather Pixie's face :
The Paternal Optimist will be back soon after Christmas to report on all of the festivities. In the meantime, he sends his very best wishes to all those readers who visit this page.
Happy Christmas Everybody !!
PO! great blog...is this a blog? i'm not very smooth with the internet, e-mail is about as far as i can go. if you get this let me know, i'd love to catch up! you can reach me at jankyaxe@yahoo.com. give my love to all!
Guitar Hero.
Posted by: Guitar Hero | March 24, 2005 at 08:54 PM