Twas the Night Before Christmas

 Twas the night before Christmas and all through the town

Not a creature was stirring, no one was around!

The stockings were hung by the TV with care

With one person missing, there was only a pair.

The Buddhas were nestled, tucked in for the night

Then the bell dinged in surprise, giving all such a fright;

With mom in her nightgown and I in my sweats;

We had not much more planned than a night on the internets.

When at the bottom of the stairs arose such a clatter,

I sprung from the couch to see what was the matter.

The moon, gone and covered by a Christmas Eve fog,

And I, a little tipsy from some rum-spiked egg nog;

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,

It’s Little Buddha. He’s arrived, he’s actually here!

Through sirens and street noise came a voice strong and thick and

I knew in a moment that it must be our Nick.

He wasn’t alone; there were more steps at the door

And in came Frijole, our party made four.

With work in the way, their visit was not sure

But at the end of the day, family always will endure.

So off came the PJs and off came the sweats,

It was time to celebrate, our Christmas wish met.

With work and school and life to be had,

I feared that our Christmas this year would be sad

That we wouldn’t stop to let the spirit creep in

But in the end, Christmas would win.

So from us out to you, as the holidays take flight,

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Written after the gut-busting extravaganza at Maple & Ash.