and a happy post-christmas to you too

in which I am tired and not a little kerfuffled by all the consumering and face-filling of the past week(s). I have eaten my weight in chocolate chip cookies and merangues (sp?) and assorted pies and spiced objects, chased with eggnog and coffee and the occasional Stella. I have been to the mall at 7:00 AM to search the darkened corners for swaddling clothes - at deep discount - with which to hide my burgeoning girth. I have watched football. I have taken naps in the daylight. I have listened to Simpsons DVD commentary. I have not seen King Kong, or Narnia, or anything else in a theater. I do have my limits.

Through it all, the eyes of the children have lighted my path. They of the smiling mouths, the boundless energy, the broken table legs, the sudden explosive emotional breakdowns. They have shown me the true spirit of the season, through their repeated acts of violent carelessness - plastic rockets thrown expertly at eyes, suger-fueled dog throttlings, and so on. Only the discovery of Remix Mode on Atari Arcade Classics for the Nintendo DS has thrilled me more.