There's not enough tree for our ornaments now, and there are boxes of lights and stuffed animals and Santas that will not see the light of day this year. Christmas dinner may not be turkey because there are always leftovers, and we won't have time to consume them. We are leaving for California on the 27th, and Christmas must be put away before we leave. After all, who wants to come home to a Christmas tree in March?

So many of the things that made our house Christmas Central in the past have been curtailed, have not been attempted, have disappeared from the list of December to-dos. No party (which drove me crazy for 25+ years, but now, brings on waves of nostalgia.) No eggnog. No boxes and cans brimming with Christmas cookies. No mountain of presents under the tree. No midnight services, replete with carols and candlelight. No shopping at the mall, or wandering down King Street, on the prowl for stocking gifts. It's just not the same.

The parties are still there--but complicated by the calculus of lengthy drives to unfamiliar locations, and night vision that seems to be getting worse. Sometimes, we just decide that we have longer recovery times than we used to. Shopping has been curtailed by the tempting ease of the internet--and Amazon. Who wouldn't trade the parking, the crowds, the endless lines at counters for midnight ordering and next-day pickup at the UPS store? I miss the baking, but...no one drops in over the holidays anymore, and diabetic proscriptions can only be ignored every so often. They can't withstand that onslaught of cookies.

Some things stay the same. There is always Christmas Eve with my family--though there are missing people who call in to the festivities. There is always an outrageous gift or two in the mix of the present-opening. Santa Dave appears for the little ones, though there are fewer of them than there used to be.