Verity's Book 2.0

My Two Days of Christmas

nightwraith17 did eight days of Christmas. Me, I decided two was enough. First the 25th, like everyone else has... and then the day after, when we actually open presents.

So. Without further drivel.

December 25th
12:50 a.m.

I finish the chapter of Sorrow and Song that I have been so desperately working on. I started it three weeks ago and life has been just plain unforgiving. I upload it to email, send it to my proof-reader/feedback-giver The Nightwraith, say goodnight to a few online buddies who are staying up as heathenishly late as me, and scat to bed. I need to be up at 7:30.

7:00

The alarm rings. I turn it off, thankful to have another half hour.

7:30

Mercy tells me what time it is. I muster my best "you-will-think-I'm-thoroughly-awake-even-though-I'm-clinging-to-dreamland" voice and tell her that I've got it. She leaves and I sink back to the pillow to catch a few more sweet stolen minutes.

7:52

I drift to semi-consciousness, realize that I'm pushing it and lunge up out of bed without thinking too hard about it, lest my resolve give. Upstairs to where breakfast is cold cereal. I wonder why I woke myself up for this.

8:30

The Christmas service is at 9:30, same time as our morning Sunday service. But on Sundays, I have a kitchen chore... and on Tuesdays, I don't. It's my one "free day" without any chores, and Mercy is the setting table person so she doesn't have any cleanup either, so we lounge around in our room being quite useless, except that Mercy reads the chapter I finished during the midnight hours.

8:50

Peace comes in from washing the dishes and I discover that Clamavi de Profundis has uploaded a rendition of Silent Night. Siblings converge on our room at this point. I chase them out. We watch the 4 1/2 minute long song with about 4 1/2 minutes to spare until 9.

9:00

Time to get in the car. Nobody seems to have much get up and go today. Nonetheless, we're driving down the road at 9:15 which is a shocker.

9:20

Pulling into the church parking lot. It's snowy. The weather was wishy-washy all December, dusting the ground a bit, melting, dusting, melting, and suddenly last Saturday the heavens opened and we got six fluffy inches.

9:30

Service opens with an invocation and hymn. I'm participating in a special performance with four other girls, and bite back pre-performance jitters. Peace is having a harder time. As the service progresses I can see her shifting and glancing to Mercy for moral support.

The prayer ends and it's our turn. Me, Mercy, and Peace get up along with the other two girls, and head to my friend's keyboard which is set up on the side. We practiced several times on Sunday night, but overall this was short notice. It's a beautiful arrangement all the same, and goes off mostly without a hitch, though I forget to come in until about a measure and a half late. Too busy listening to my sister's lovely solo.

The remainder of the service goes on while I have a sudden internal crisis about something I worry I did wrong on social media and I will be unable to fix until we get home.

After the sermon and closing hymn, we chat and fellowship for what probably amounts to over an hour, since when we get in the car it's 11:40.

My appetite is pining for all the Christmas goodies that I'm only going to get tomorrow. I make up my mind to have some of my sisters' and my employee gift from the farm today.