It's snowing outside as I write this--the most gentle little snow I've seen in a long time. Tiny little flakes, almost specs, floating down from the sky and softly coating the grass in my yard.

I'm not a snow person. For the most part, I'm not into being cold and wet, and being outside in the stuff usually means just that. It's messy and makes the streets slippery, and hypes my kids up like some kind of naturally-occurring kiddie crack. We fight with boots and mittens and snowpants, we get the bathroom floor filthy each time we go in and out (and we're in and out a lot--I'm thirsty! I hafta go potty! I don't WANNA play in the snow!).

They're saying, though, that we'll get an inch. Two, tops. And it's not really laying on the sidewalks or roads, so that's not an issue this time around. It's just this pretty wintery coating where we don't need to walk. Very Christmasy against my neighbors' lights and our red bows on our wreath and windowboxes. Very quiet and still.

I'm trying hard to be quiet and still this holiday season. There's lots going on, but I'm working on keeping my blood pressure down and my voice lowered and my tension in check. Enjoying the season, as it were, and trying to control it instead of vice versa. Most of the shopping is finished, cards are mailed, menus are being planned, and while the calendar is filled, I know there will be lots of time to breathe and decompress in January.

It's not easy. I'm prone to yelling, quite honestly, and prone to worrying and stressing out. It's an effort. But if it makes this year's holidays a little more enjoyable for everyone around me, it'll be worth it. And maybe I'll enjoy it more, too.

I'll have the radio on today--we Washingtonians tend to panic when wetness falls from the sky, and I'm anticipating an early school closure this afternoon. But I have a steaming mug of coffee here and, for the moment, it's peaceful and calm and beautiful.

Have a good one, gang.