Christmas was Different this year

It was, for a couple of reasons. First, there were some people missing that I look forward to seeing at Christmas - nieces and nephews whose presences add a lot of spice and fun to the family celebration. It was also different because the weather played merry cob with our plans (and, not incidentally, the plans of everyone else in this region). We had had a snowstorm in the early part of December, but the streets had pretty much recovered from it. On Christmas Eve (when my family does its big celebration) the snow started falling again, and falling, and falling. It took my husband and I a good hour to drive home from the family get-together (where it would usually take 30 minutes at most.) It didn't stop until sometime late on Christmas Day, and then the wind kicked in! We ended up with drifts 3 or more feet deep on the front sidewalk and I couldn't open the back door to let the dog out Christmas morning because the drifts were blocking the door. In other words, we were snowed in! Now, it may sound cozy and romantic and all those things to be snowed in at Christmas, and it is, for a while. But it's not quite so much fun after 3 or 4 days. I knew I had to get out of the house when I started snarling back at the news broadcasters on NPR. I did get out, on Sunday, for a while, and it was a tonic. Snow on Christmas Eve is beautiful, but I don't want another blizzard like that for a good long time.