❣Best Wishes❣

For various reasons, the family got together and had an early Chrissy this year, so I'm home alone for Christmas day proper. Not that it bothers me; I'm not sentimental about any of this crap. What difference does it make if everyone gets together on the 20^th or the 25^th? The calendar dates are all arbitrary anyway.

Anyway, our Chrissy was nice, if largely unremarkable. We went swimming and played footy and watched cricket in the evening; we opened presents; we prepared—and then ate—a stupid amount of food (except the men folk, who didn't have to prepare anything, for some reason—or clean up, for that matter). The kids were adorable when they weren't being shits. Terra was adorable even when she was being a shit.

Over the last couple of days, I've been working on my backlog of blog post, as well as doing a few other things. Bed time is now much nicer than it was … but more on that next time around.

Today, I went for a walk, and I don't think I've ever seen the place so still. Not a soul outside, not a car in the street. It was almost like something from a post-apocalyptic film. Not a trace of life to be found anywhere. I couldn't even spot any crows. In the park, I came across my old mate—the currawong—dancing across the grass, pouncing on grubs and insects, oblivious to the calm. I laid down under a tree to watch him, and he sang me a song. It was so lovely I can't even describe it.

I hope you enjoyed Chrissy as much as I did.

Love from Alex. ✘✘✘