- we packed up our christmas decorations and put them up on shelving in the garage today. how odd to put away all the decorations on december 18.

- likewise, the christmas tree is now upside down in the ‘greens’ trashcan, ready for pick-up tomorrow morning, it’s little exposed tree-butt sadly sticking out the top.

- in packing the christmas stuff, we noticed that the dog ate the head off the camel from the nativity set i bought a few years back in bethlehem. not sure what that says. seems there’s an illustration in there somewhere.

- likewise, one of the wise men had his face removed, by our dog. no other damage has been reported by the holy family at this time.

- having my wife and son fly through chicago tomorrow, while my daughter and i fly through denver, gives us close to 100% confidence that someone won’t make it to detroit. frequent flier seats have their dark sides.

- i hate cleaning the house to leave. but with a dog/housesitter coming as we leave, this is my lot (well, ‘our’ lot would be more accurate, as i’m certainly not doing it alone!).

- packing a family is perfect storm at the intersection of “the least fun a family can have” and “most guaranteed family activity to bring tension and a possible right at some point”.