Christmas Holidays, Day 1

So, this is what my agenda has looked like so far today:

• 8:30 -- Get up.
• 9:30 -- Go spend time with the 'kidlets'; get offered breakfast and an egg nog latte within half an hour of arriving. Hang out at the museum.
• 1:15 -- Return home.
• 1:45 -- Have lunch.
• 2:00 -- Putz around on the computer.
• 3:20 -- Nap (with cat).
  
• 4:00 -- Rouse; more computer putzing.
• 6:00 -- Eat supper.
• 6:30 -- Listen to Stuart McLean on CD while cleaning my room and kitchen.
  

Oh, the casual pace of holidays! I currently have a cat on each side of me as I type (have laptop, will cozy on the couch) who have fully accepted this new pace and have spent most of the day horizontal on the couch. Well, really, this could be what they do every day, and I wouldn't know it. But I like to think their routine sometimes matches my own when I'm home.

I was thinking earlier today of the first day of holidays when I was done school for the semester. In my freshman year, I had been required to stay right until the end of exam week given my exam schedule. Not surprisingly, once home I looked forward to the opportunity to sleep in.

My first day home happened to be the winter solstice (like today). I had been sleeping ever so soundly when my dad came in and woke me up by jostling my mattress. My parents were generally pretty good about letting me sleep in when I had nothing to be up for, so I knew that if I was being woken up, I must have definitely been sleeping in late. I rolled over and looked at the clock; it was around noon. I groaned and pulled the blanket back over my head. "Get up!" my dad stated, "it's the shortest day of the year, and you've slept through half of it!"

It's been a long time since I've been able to sleep in quite that late. I occasionally manage 11am, but those are usually the result of a 2am bedtime the night before. As I have gotten older (sigh, older, guh), I generally greet the day between 9:30 and 10:30 on weekends and holidays. It's still glorious. I will take advantage of this part of being single!

So realistically, given it is just after 8:30pm, the night is still very young. I will very likely listen to at least one more Vinyl Cafe story. Maybe two. At some point, though, I'm going out. JM wants to go night sledding--I think JP is coming, too. And when I look at tomorrow's agenda--which could play out pretty darn close to today's if I want it to--I think, "why not?" ...So I'm going sledding!