Merry Christmas one and all

Once again this blog has hit a fallow patch. Are they happening more often? Have I finally run out of things to say? Is my well of inspiration running dry? I think perhaps I am too close to myself to see clearly. What I can say for certain is that I am running on empty. Christmas is fun, and busy, and full. But I am now the generation who takes responsibility for looking after those both older and younger than myself, so it's not so much a break as an exercise in logistical precision, with one slip leading to food poisoning all round, or being on the receiving end of a look of hurt betrayal from a beloved relation as you realise there was one present you forgot to buy.

I am now reaching the stage of the Christmas holiday where I'm wondering if it's time to go back to work yet. Not, I hasten to add, because I prefer work to spending time with my bears, but because life is frankly considerably easier when there is a routine to stick to and I don't have to think about what's happening when and how and where all the time. I don't have to plan, or travel or entertain, or pack, or wrap. On the other hand... LittleBear's football season restarts on 11th January, so there go my weekends again... Can I have some more Christmas holiday please?

Only four people, and all those presents