Here I am, posting at the incredibly late hour of 7:30 a.m., because, praise the gods, I slept like I was under enchantment until well after daylight. Now here I sit by the hotel window, sipping from a mug of weak-witted coffee, staring out into a 7-degree parking lot, and admiring the icicles that hang like catfish whiskers off my Subaru's grille.

Later today we will tearfully bid goodbye to the big party and wend our way back to the little northern city by the sea. It's been a fabulous holiday--my in-laws filled with joy and generosity, the kids outside making snow angels and clambering through drifts, unless they are inside arguing over Monopoly or washing piles of dishes or disappearing to take naps or curling up to read books or suddenly squeezing me into a hug . . . What a crew. I love them so.