Christmas On The Square

Dear reader, how was your week?

What are you up to this weekend? It was another week that I felt like I was barely treading water, but I am so happy to say we made it through and we’re officially on Thanksgiving break! And by “we”, I mean our kids, because of course we still have to work, but they’re out of school for an entire week this year, which seems excessive, but I’m optimistic.

Last night we had a bunch of family and friends over for soup (PJ made chicken tortilla and my friend Mallory made lasagna soup). We didn’t have any corn for the soup, so my mom popped in with a couple of cans to save the day. This is why we can’t move too far away, people! Who would bring us cans of yellow corn in a pinch if we lived somewhere else? I don’t take this kind of life-saving lightly.

After we ate, we all walked downtown for the annual tree lighting ceremony our town has been doing for 20 years, called Christmas in the Square. There was hot chocolate and ornament making and a s’mores station, and of course, Santa Claus sitting in the gazebo for the kids to take pictures with.

There were middle school teachers reading Christmas stories, and both the county and city mayors were there for the ribbon cutting. It was so much fun to be downtown with some of our favorite people in the world, all gathering together with the same purpose: Enjoying this festive season in our little town we love so much. If it sounds like something out of a Hallmark movie, that’s because it felt like one.

When we got back home, we all piled in the living room and played Nintendo and sipped wine and munched on popcorn while the kids ran around upstairs playing tag, sporadically popping in to say hi.

I set up a Christmas movie for them in the office, which they watched all of 10 minutes before getting restless and running around again.

This is what this time of the year is all about, and I am so very grateful for friends and family that live close by who we can share the joy of this season with. A perfect start to the weekend!