Christmas Day...

Saturday, December 25, 2010

I’m always ready to go so much earlier than Holly on Christmas morning. I suppose it would have something to do with the fact that it’s usually around 5 a.m. when she comes to bed…having put the finishing touches on all the things that will make Christmas day so special for me and the kids. Still…lame excuse…

I was up at 8 a.m. and found Jack pacing at the top of the stairs. There’s a hard and fast rule…if you go downstairs ahead of mom and dad…you’ll be killed. He knew it and honored the code. “Can I go down in the kitchen and eat? I’m starved,” he asked.

Now…Holly was asleep and the big decision was on me. I mean…he is 16 and we weren’t worried about what he’d see so I said ‘yes’. We waited together for about an hour and decided we needed to take some action to get the rest of the house stirring. More importantly, we had to get Jason over since nothing was going to start without him. The way it’s supposed to work is that the kids sit with Dakota on the stairs for the traditional family picture before being allowed to come down and open presents. Well…I’d already screwed that up by allowing Jack to eat, but I still needed to maintain some semblance of order. I called Jason and he was still sleeping…in Kent. He promised to hurry, but I knew we still had at least an hour.

When he finally did arrive, we gave him his birthday presents and then began opening our Christmas presents to each other. I love how this has become the highlight of the season. No longer do my children care so much about what they are receiving, but are more interested in the giving. It’s a wonderful transition to experience in one’s self and even better to witness in them.

Holly’s dad and brother and wife would be joining us for Christmas dinner later in the afternoon and I used that time to get in a ride. Sixty minutes on the bike would be equivalent to the snacking I would do throughout the day…which is better than nothing. Holly was making a turkey dinner again…something over which I exhibit no will power.

When the time came to eat though, I put only turkey, sweet potatoes and green beans on my plate…and not gravy. I did manage to drink a eggnog milkshake after dinner, though.

I honestly can’t remember the last time I was hungry…but I think it was early October. One more week of holiday eating and then it’s back to serious training and modified caloric intake…seriously.

Bike duration: 60 minutes
Training Heart Rate: 130
Calories burned during workout: 900