The Pounding of the Holidays is Less Deafening than the Silence which Follows…

A quick thought:

For all intents and purposes, our last wave of 'Holiday' guests departed this afternoon.
When compared with tales of war told by others, ours was a relatively tame fortnight. Granted, the New Year has yet to ring in, but in our house the occasion will be shared with one other family, homemade pizza, wine, and possibly a deck of cards.

We all feel moments during the Great Christmas Rush when our limits are reached and then tested further; shopping, cooking, hosting, and cleaning; then the cycle begins again. At times it can seem a relentless onslaught, at others it reveals – through tiny epiphanies – true meanings of friendship, family, and the spirit of giving and sharing.
Truthfully, I have been waiting to exhale. Now, though, sitting in a quiet living room, the children (their flu squarely defeated) asleep, and the house in order; the window reminds me of what lies ahead.
Winter & Routine.
While the carousing can chase us until our legs burns, the quiet Canadian Winter weeks ahead can loom like a shadow barricading our view of the Spring waving in the distance.
Granted, the days grow longer, now. But, with the house empty of visitors and the rhythm of life's ordinary schedule rehearsing for its next act, the question is:
Will the sighs of ordinary life ahead make us long for the cacophony and maelstrom of Christmas?