Snow on Christmas Eve in Truckee

Woke up to real snow for Christmas Eve — the pines out back loaded down with it and more still falling. We went out to stand around in it for a while, no destination, just the road behind the house. The kid kept her hands in her jacket pockets the whole time and collected snowflakes in her hair instead of brushing them out. The branches on the smaller trees were bent almost to the ground.

Back inside for the rest of the day. The little Michigan tree by the window looked right for once with actual snow behind it instead of just the idea of snow. The cat tolerated the Santa hat longer than expected, though not by much.

We did presents in pajamas — a jewelry stand, a black beret that went straight onto a head and stayed there through the whole unwrapping. Wrapping paper still on the floor as I write this.