Holidays Update

It's been a good holiday season for the family so far. Only the New Year's holiday left and then all will be back to normal. We have had a wonderful time hanging out with family and it has reminded me of what I've been missing since we moved to Florida. We had so many folks together on Christmas Eve at my brother in law's house and on Christmas day at my mother in law's. Food in abundance, good cheer. The kids have had a great time seeing everyone and made out like bandits yet again. Can't help it if they are well loved ;-)
I now know what my wife felt the first years that she was with my family during the holidays. When the conversations get to the "remember when" stage, you sometimes feel on the outside. Even on those times, I wouldn't trade it in for anything. We have all taken turns during the visiting times to host: Xmas Eve at brother in laws, Xmas Dinner at mother in laws, a mid week grill out at our house and tonight it's Chili at the brother in law's again. Tomorrow our visitors from out of town head back home in time for New Year's.
Work has been a bit slow this week, but a much welcomed time since the pace has been maddening going back to Thanksgiving. I've been able to catch up on some smaller parts of my current project, assist with a shutdown of another project, get the laptop up to date with the latest drivers and security fixes and reflect on the year a bit. It's almost annual review time so I have to get all my ideas in order for the formal process that could lead to raises in the coming year.