Short Story

Who Could Ask For More

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

This week at Writing Prompts, Esther has teased us
with the word ‘gifts’. Meanwhile, Gerry and Sue
at Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge have
offered up the word ‘decorations’. This is my story.

My husband Bill and I have been in each other’s lives since we met in March 1968; that’s a long time …. possibly longer than some of you have been alive …. a mind-blowing concept!
Imagine how many gifts have been exchanged between us over the course of those 56 years …. not just Christmas gifts but birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, the birth of a baby, etc.
Our sons are grown and flown, married with families of their own. How many gifts have we purchased for them, their wives and their kids over the years? The number is incalculable.
A few years ago Bill and I started a new Christmas tradition …. splitting our time between our sons. On Christmas Eve we have dinner with David, his wife, daughter and his in-law’s at their house. Christmas Day dinner is at our other son Will’s house with him, his wife, their kids and his in-laws who come up from FL. Travel time for us is only 15 minutes per son with the bonus of no clean up for me!
Celebrating with our boys and their families is wonderful but nothing comes close to Christmas morning. That’s the time when Bill and I are home alone. We ease into the morning, then shuffle into the kitchen for coffee and bagels as Bill flips on the TV for the annual Yule Log. If you’re not familiar with the Yule Log, it’s a decades-long tradition consisting of an image on the TV screen of a blazing fireplace decorated for Christmas with carols and seasonal songs playing in the background, all commercial free. We also have our fireplace going and the music from the TV provides the perfect ambience …. cozy, peaceful and romantic.
Still in our PJs and coffee mugs in hand, we get comfy in the living room to exchange our gifts. These days we try to keep the number of gifts to a minimum; after all, there isn’t anything either of us really needs. We have it all …. a loving family and a comfortable home, a brightly lit tree with beautiful decorations, Christmas carols and the Yule Log …. and each other.
Who could ask for more than that?

NAR©2024

This is “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” by the Carpenters

Writing Prompts
Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge – Decorations

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35 thoughts on “Who Could Ask For More”

  4. Lovely post Nancy. This is our 36th Christmas together and we’ve always had a good one. When we had a TV, we used to tune in to Noel’s Christmas Presents for the Christmas Morning blubber (lovely feel good stories, reunions etc).

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  6. This post warmed my heart! ❤️
    Nothing compares to special momemts with family and quiet momemts with your spouse. 🥰
    I also love my Tv Yole Log. 🧡
    Have a great day and thanks for the smiles.

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  13. I don’t think that looking at a TV could ever compare to having an actual fireplace, as you never get the smell of the wood burning, although you don’t have all the mess that comes with a real fireplace either as they can be a lot of work even if you get your wood delivered and stacked.

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