Home for the Holidays

Yesterday Mr M was on afternoon shift. This means going into work for 2pm and leaving work at 10pm. It has always been the shift I most hate because I can never get anything started before he goes. I always feel there isn't time to start, even if the task will only take an hour I have great difficultly getting going because all too soon he will be picking up his bag and his coat and going out through the door.
Yesterday was no different. He went off to work and I had to make sure I stayed awake until it was time to collect Miss M from the school across the road. We ate Lincolnshire gingerbread cookies and drank milk and talked about Santa visitng the school and giving her a Winnie the Witch book and some chocolate, and also we watched Christmas 24 channel. We like this.
Pretty soon Mummy arrived home from work and then Daddy arrived, surprising us because we had forgotten that he finished early on a Friday. Daddy pointed out that there was a card to say that the post office had tried to deliver a parcel but no one was in - they lied, again. He offered to run down to the sorting office - about 300 metres away from our house - and collect it for me. As it was Mr M's present I said yes please.
Miss M and Mummy went home and then her Daddy brought the parcel so I thought it would be a good time to wrap it, while Mr M was safe in work until 10pm. The time was 6.15pm.

wearing his wedding tie

I got the wrapping paper, the cutter and the sticky tape and as I cut the paper the front door opened! Mr M was home!

I did the "shrieeeeek" "Stay there!, don't come in this room! go and sit on the sofa and watch the TV for five minutes" I threw the paper over the gift and rushed to welcome him home and to explain in my normal, non shrieking voice that I was wrapping something for him and I didn't want to spoil the surprise.
"That's OK," he said "I don't mind sitting here and waiting. I am Home For The Holidays. I don't go back to work until January second."

I was so excited, I didn't know whether to kiss him first and then do the happy dance or do the dance and then kiss him so I kind of kissed him then danced then went back for more kisses - daft eh?

I wrapped his present. I made a cuppa and then we had fish finger sandwiches for our tea YUM!
Having him going out to work has always been something I hate. I would love to have him around all the time and I love it when there are holidays and we can just be. When he is not here I have this affliction, we call it emptyarmitis. So now I have him home with me until january 2nd

~happy dance~