Revolutionary Ideas

For years, my DH and I scrambled madly to make it to Grandma's house for Christmas. We drove through the night across windswept, snowy plains. We waited in airports, praying for breaks in the weather and entertaining the kids with whatever we could think of. In all that time, I thought our parents had it easy, snug and warm and not constantly moving, just waiting for us to arrive and the Christmas celebration to begin.

Now I'm the parent waiting. Our oldest daughter is in the maw of the air traffic system today and all we can do is pray that there are no weather delays or mechanical difficulties or ice on the road getting to the airport that's 3 1/2 hours away from her house. We've been looking forward to her visit for months and she's due in tonight. Even though I'm only 14 days out from major surgery, I'm determined to meet her at the airport.

Because of my surgery, we're not planning too much running around during her time with us, but one of the things she asked to do is visit The Green Dragon. This historic pub was established in 1654 and was frequented by likes of Paul Revere (who happens to be buried in my churchyard), John Hancock and Daniel Webster. The Green Dragon's claim to fame is that the revolutionary conspirators met there frequently to discuss their plans and reputedly overheard the British plans for the invasion of Lexington and Concorde from the Brits in the next booth. I'm looking forward to visiting this unique pub and sampling some of their revolutionary fare--shepherds pie, bangers and mash, etc.

And I'm looking forward to spending time with my DH and our daughters. I know people obsess about family time over the holidays, but I've never found it onerous. I suppose it's my recent brush with cancer, but I can't think of anything sweeter than time with the ones you love.

Merry Christmas, my friends. Love your family, celebrate your faith, and may you receive your heart's desire this year!