Quiet.

Well, metaphorical quiet, anyway. I am, in fact, listening to Sleater-Kinney�s One Beat, a Christmas present.

The battery-operated toys are off. AJ is dreaming. My husband is out with his best friend. I am alone in my �subterranean lair,� as my husband has taken to calling my office.

Quiet.

The last couple days have been, if this is possible, a whirlwind of sloth. We have been rushing from place to place in order to lounge. It was quite wonderful, but I am happy to be home alone for a little while. There has been precious little time for reflection.

Christmas Eve we headed out to the family Christmas party a little late as usual. When we arrived, the party was in full swing. My son was quickly whisked away to who-knows-where and I didn�t make it out of the entry hall for an hour. When I finally emerged, I tracked down AJ in the basement watching a James Bond movie with some of the older boys and playing with a toy cash register. He was in heaven. We had to drag him kicking and screaming out of there an hour or two later when it was time for Santa to arrive.

The whole family gathered as close to the piano as possible � in some cases not so close. There were, after all, over 60 people there. After a little carol-singing, my brother-in-law came in dressed in the family Santa suit, much to the embarrassment of his teenaged daughters. When it was his turn to collect a gift, AJ hid his face behind one arm while he reached for his present with the other. He was one exhausted little boy by the time we got him bundled into his favorite rocket ship pajamas and into the car to go home. We had to go back twice for stuff we�d forgotten. Becoming a parent has made me incredibly disorganized.

It was nice not to have to rush away from the family early for a gig. We came home, put AJ to bed, played Santa, and then walked out to the pond down the street. Our neighborhood puts out luminaria along all the streets and driveways on Christmas Eve, which looks really beautiful. Someone always puts some of the lanterns on all the bridges and waterfalls in the ponds. The light reflecting into the pond water, combined with the very starry sky was beautiful. Exhausted, we walked home and crawled into bed where I toasted in Christmas morning watching my favorite Christmas movie, The Bishop�s Wife with a glass of eggnog, spiked, of course.

Christmas morning, AJ was up and excited for it to be Christmas. We made the mistake of telling him Santa had brought him some presents, because he was then worried that Santa was, in fact, still hiding downstairs and might force him to talk to him. He refused to leave his room until repeated reassurances that Santa had gone home persuaded him to tiptoe to the top of the stairs, from which vantage point he could see that there were some interesting-looking toys waiting for him.

AJ would have been so happy to have received one toy and been allowed to play with it all day long. We had a really nice couple of hours with him at home. But we were due at my sister-in-law�s for brunch with all of my husband�s siblings and kids. The gift-giving is always horrifyingly excessive, and this year was no different. My husband�s sister and one of his brothers are unmarried and love giving gifts to their nieces and nephew. AJ got a pile of presents that was, quite literally (and we have photographic evidence of this point) taller than he was. Clothes. Books. Toys and more toys. He didn�t even know what he had. I�ve put some things away for dreary winter days and have hidden others around the house for him to discover when he�s in the mood to wander. For now, however, he�s completely enraptured by his new garage for his cars and a bowling set that taunts you as you prepare to roll the ball and then giggles and yells �yay!� when you get a strike.

My aunt and uncle sent AJ my favorite gifts of the day � two stuffed animals from what would appear to be a collection of cuddly one-celled organisms. Arriba Amoeba and Hippie Hydra (complete with dreds and a peace symbol tattoo) were extremely entertaining to the adults. I envision them appearing in some future science project.

I got most of my gifts early � a new cherry-red parka and chocolate brown knee-high boots. But in addition to the CD, I found a copy of Coetzee�s latest, Elizabeth Costello under the tree, which I�m sure I�ll enjoy. My best present, however, was a phone call from my brother, currently vacationing in South Africa. He said that they were planning on leaving Israel by June � they are ready to leave. That in itself is cause for celebration.

We�ll be doing more celebrating in the week ahead. My brother-in-law volunteered to babysit his godson tomorrow, so my husband and I can go out. My mom and dad are arriving on Monday and we�ll have another giftfest with them. New Year�s Eve we�ll include them in our annual tradition of cooking a fancy lobster and steak dinner and toasting in the New Year outside. New Year�s Day the whole crowd with whom we spent Christmas will be coming over for the Rose Bowl Parade and football � the team my dad played for in college is in the Rose Bowl, so there is likely to be a lot of yelling.

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