Hot Chocolate and Caroling...and other Christmas things!
Nicole thought this was going to be the best Christmas yet! This is her daughter's very first Christmas after all, and the year they get to build all of their traditions.
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My bones were stiff. My family drained every last bit of energy I had yesterday. It was good to be around them, and even if they wouldn't stop asking questions about my job and what was going on with me, I felt like I could finally forget everything going on in the real world.
There was something about being around family that just felt like the right thing. Like the world was lifted off my shoulders and I could breathe. They were always there when it came to stressful deadlines with editing and they always had my back and last night proved that even more over dinner when they were nothing short of supportive.
I pull the covers further over my head, not wanting to get out of bed. I felt the need to sleep for the next few years, to try and catch up on all the sleep I've missed. The last six years were spent reading late into the night and then getting up early in the morning to do it all over again. I'd edit entire articles in a few hours and work on some commission pieces where the more I could get done, the more I'd get paid at the end of the week. This made it into a challenge.
James would complain about the light being too bright on my laptop when he was trying to go to bed, but that had just become a normal part of our routine. Now I was laying in our bed, with his side fully made while noises echo from downstairs. How long had he been up with Hazel?
I glance at my phone screen to see the time was just past nine. I hadn't slept this late in years.
"No wonder I'm so tired." I groan, "I overslept."
Pulling the covers away from my body, I allow myself to stretch my muscles, placing my feet on the cold wood floor.
"Hazel, no, don't do that!" I heard shouting and laughter echo from down the stairs. A small smile forming on my face. I wonder what mess those two were getting into. I grab my robe from the bathroom door, pulling it around my body to bring some warmth back to my bones. Trekking down the stairs, I snuck around the corner to catch James and Hazel making homemade waffles. Hazel was sitting on the counter, still in her pajamas, a large whisk sticking out of her hand. She placed it in the batter, trying as hard as she could to stir it, but only flicking a few drops of gooey dough onto the counter. She threw her head back in laughter, a smile nearly splitting her tiny little face. James laughs with her, trying to clean up the spills as quickly as he could before she made more.
"Stop." He mutters, pulling the whisk from her hand. He turns just for a moment to throw the whisk in the sink but before he could place his eyes on Hazel once more, she was already elbow-deep in the batter, soaking her hand.
"Oh no," I chuckle, rushing into the kitchen to try to help out. "Hazel, honey, let's not put our entire hand in the batter."
"Momma!" she shouts, holding her sticky hand in the air as brown drops crash onto the table beneath her.
"Good morning, and welcome to chef Hazel-nut's kitchen." James laughs, grabbing our daughter off the counter and placing her in the empty side of the sink. "Where the mess is most of the fun for everyone."
