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It’s over.

Thank God.

We did the Christmas Eve family thing, the Christmas Day family thing and the Day After Christmas work thing, but today the family and I did the let’s stay in bed till Noon thing immediately followed by the laze around the house all day thing.

That’s a lot of things.

Almost everything worked the way it was designed; the sole exception being the set of speakers my father purchased instead of the Surround Sound system I requested.  Blame it on an over-zealous, under-trained salesman and my Dad’s unfamiliarity with modern technology, but it’s all good.  That’s why God invented receipts and 30 day return policies.

Lex was pleased with her gifts; the Bratz Festival (her description, not mine) satisfied on all levels.  Rhonda liked her DVDs, will like her new Razor phone and should like all her new clothing (that’s a mortal lock because she selected everything before her mom plunked down the charge card).

Me?  I’m a happy gamer and the proud owner of a new Xbox 360, thanks to the generosity of my missus and the timely assistance of the posse at the local Electronics Boutique.  Rhonda and the boys down the mall attempted to pull a Christmas Eve, double-cross fake-out, but it didn’t work because of the tag attached to the ersatz empty box.  A bit of advice to any potential grifters reading this: Never alert your mark by signing your work.

The key to a successful scam is subtlety.

After today’s lazy recovery, tomorrow starts the return to a regular writing schedule, followed by a resumption of regular bookstore hours.  Legerdemain is rolling towards the finish line (the next scene is Ducalion telling Keith the story of the Teacher and how he lost his family, a tale I’ve known forever but only alluded to in print) and Oogie Boogie Bounce is still searching for a home.  I’m taking a suggestion from J. A. Konrath’s recent essay and planning for 2006 to be a banner year.

Or at least a bit more newsworthy.

But Then Again, You’ll Have This . . .