christmas: the battle between selfishness and generosity

christmas eve dinner and christmas itself - albeit gaudium interruptus - was glorious.

shockingly (because we've had less than pleasant past memories) EVERYONE, from the adults to the amazons to ashraf and soraya's munchkins, even the tiniest one who had a headcold, was beautifully behaved at the table

and thrilled with the gifts they received

and even more thrilled with the smiles on the faces of the gift-receivers.

it's so satisfying when you feel you've hit the sweet spot with a present - searched and discovered something the person REALLY (and possibly secretly) wanted.

in the battle of greed and generosity that is christmas, i believe generosity and kindness won out this year.

sasha took masses of pictures of the details, zarina danced around with the baby on her hip and was quite possibly the best member of mirad's audience when he did his annual magic show.

mirad's sense of himself (for years, the only boy and a smallish one at that) in the complex hierarchy of our extended family seems strengthened by these gatherings, where the girls love and fuss over him.

nathalia bounced around with the awkward, vulnerable love and clear-eyed honesty that only a 6 year-old can have.

rara was, as usual, a drop of honey for me, sweetening every moment with her instinctive warmth and compassion.

the hardest part was packing up the car and leaving while the after-christmas wind-down was just beginning...