I left Kansas City yesterday at 10am and drove to Des Moines in annoying spitting rain the entire way.  By 1pm … around the time I arrived at Mom and Dad’s, KC was getting socked with a snowstorm.  By 4pm, that snowstorm turned in to a full-tilt blizzard.   And then the snow-nami hit Iowa with a vengeance.  Had I waited a few hours, I would have missed Xmas with my folks.

As I get older, the holidays are not to be taken lightly.  I relish in the time I spend with my parents.  This year we bucked a lot of traditions.  For instance, it’s now 7pm on Xmas Day.  If this were any other year, Mom would have demanded the Xmas tree be stripped early in the day.   It’s currently still twinkling and creating holiday cheer.

My folks and I always open presents on Xmas Eve.  It’s been tradition since, well, ever.   We didn’t open presents until 3pm today.  Not shocking or unheard of … except in our family.  Last night we hung out with my mom’s side of the family.   We got home seconds before the roads got icy.  (Talk about white knuckle driving.)  Typically, we’d open presents and leave the wrapping strewn around the room.  So much for that … we were all exhausted and went to bed.

We always spend Xmas morning with Dad’s side of the family going over to my Aunt Margaret’s for a killer brunch.  It’s been that way for 20 years.  This morning … they came to our house.  I made an awesome breakfast casserole.  It was like a Bizarro Xmas.  While still quite fun, it was like being in a parallel universe.

Maybe we were in a rut … who knows?  But it was kind of nice to buck the system this year.  Currently, Des Moines is getting bombarded with snow.  It’s been snowing all day.   And I did get a slew of socks and undies from Santa.

Well, at least some things remain the same.