holidays at home.

“Fat, happy, and lazy” would best accurately describe the mood at the dinner table on Christmas day.

After celebrating a holiday of tradition and togetherness, I couldn’t help but wonder what the new year would have in store for the Krull family.

Curious, I asked.

“What’s new?”

What I was looking for, I didn’t quite know. Quite possibly, it was likely as simple as seeking conversation.

It’s rare, you know, to have my whole family at one place.

Sure, we do family dinners once a week, but between work talk and fighting to share what was new in each of our lives, it always feels fleeting.

On Christmas Day though, there was no work, no appointments, drama, or distraction.

We were together: fat, happy, and lazy.

My brother was the first to respond.

“How about asking instead: what makes us happy in this moment?”

Great question, so we went round the table.

One after the other, the same answer was spoken:

Family.

That each member of my family thought to answer what made them happy in that moment as family was pretty remarkable.

Despite the generosity, thoughtfulness, kindness, and richness of our Christmas morning under the tree, it was being with family that made the most memorable impression for us all.

When people ask how my holiday was, what special gifts did I get, did I have a nice time, I think about that moment at the dinner table.

We’ve had this tradition for nearly 30 years and have not once missed a Christmas holiday with the family. When I think about it, that’s pretty special.

In an economically uncertain time and despite the separate lives we each and all live, the one thing that remains constant, certain, and sincere is time spent with loved ones around the dinner table on Christmas.

Family was, is, and will always be, what makes the holidays so dear.

Those times together spent pondering what makes us happy in that moment is what Christmas is all about.

That, and feeling fat, happy, and lazy.