Christmas this year was a walk in the park compared to years past.  We went to one nice Christmas Eve service and I was home before 1 a.m. for the first time in 22 years.  I participated in the music but had no responsibility for anything else.  I could just enjoy the service.  Christmas morning we got up in a reasonable time, opened a few presents, and relaxed the rest of the day.  Of course in my family, relaxing means doing some cooking, some eating, some games, and a few chores.  Mom and I worked on a puzzle that John and Jackie gave me.  Tom and Dad fixed a patch of vinyl flooring that was bad.  Tom and I won the Hartley / Clymer Euchre trophy after years of it staying with Mom and Dad.  Mom beat everyone at dominoes.  Julia, Steve, and John all called to wish everyone a merry Christmas.  It was a nice, relaxed, quiet, and fun day.

Today we took a walk in the park of a different kind.  We have a few days left in Columbus but haven’t gotten out much because the weather has been cold and rainy.  Today was sunny and 45, so we took advantage of the nice weather and headed to Highbanks Metro Park.  We hiked on the Dripping Water and Olentangy Scenic River trails and got some good exercise, enjoyed the sunshine, and learned a little history.  We walked a little over four miles and enjoyed the time together.  There were lots of other people out enjoying a day off work in the sunshine.  We always think it is funny that most of the Columbus Metro Parks are not in Columbus.  Highbanks is actually in Delaware County.  Highbanks is so named because of the 100 foot high shale bluff along the Olentangy River in the park.

It was a lovely day and our walk in the park was a nice way to reconnect to each other after spending lots of time with others lately.