What Happened

It was really really really cold.

Big Cuter and I covered the plants on Christmas night, and the sheets were still there tonight, Sunday, as TBG and I took out the recycling and the trash.  I love my sweaters, the few which have survived years of closet purging, and that's a good thing.  I had many opportunities to wear them this week.

When it's warmer in Illinois than it is in Arizona, it's time to consider that global climate change may just be a reality.
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New thoughts were considered.

Big Cuter brought us Slate's notion that a chubby, white, bearded man as the icon of the season excludes most of the population.  Why should Santa be another instance of reinforcing I'm different?

Of course, the article suggests replacing the fellow in red with a penguin...... and I'm sorry, but that just doesn't work for me.
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Social justice made an appearance.

Let Santa give your kids the modest gifts; tag the expensive ones From Mom and Dad. Not every family can afford new iPads; don't add a layer of confusion to a poor child's Christmas morning as he wonders why Santa dropped a big screen tv off at Richie Rich's house while he got a bag of M&M's.

I don't remember where I heard it, but it stopped me in my tracks.  It's a simple fix, requiring little if any mental gymnastics.  It's something that's obvious, once it's mentioned.  It's kind of embarrassing that I didn't think of it years ago.
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Old friends made a surprise appearance.

TBG and I have spent many Christmases with the Golden Gopher.  We walked to the Episcopal church just down Fullerton, in the snow, caroling with TBG's parents, one Christmas Eve in the 1970's, and we welcomed him and Mrs. Gopher this year for dinner with our son.  The Gophers were on vacation in Tucson, and we all agreed that the best gift we could share was being together.

There's something beyond wonderful about 40 plus years of holiday memories.
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Big issues were discussed.

The Golden Gopher took on Governor Ice Cream over his knee-jerk reaction to the resettlement of refugees..... in a newspaper interview.  The kerfuffle was meaningless - it was all bluster and no action - but noses were put out of joint and ripples were felt.

We all agreed that one of the best parts of getting older is the opportunity to retire.
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Much love was shared.

Friends and neighbors and teachers and family..... brownies were given and hugs were taken and there's still more joy to come.  I'm in a retrospective mood, considering the past, looking at how it will impact my future. Listen in over this week as I make a plan.