Happy Christmas Eve. If you're like us you're with family today. I'm fortunate my mother in law's such a great cook. When we get to her house the windows will be steamed over, and the minute the door's opened we'll be blasted with the most heavenly smell of savory, garlicy goodness. She's not Italian, but you wouldn't know it from the food she cooks. She's Polish, but since she married an Italian she learned how to cook in the style he was used to. She cooks Polish stuff too, but at the holidays it's all Italian all the time.

We'll also hear what's now a digitized (formerly reel-to-reel tape, which even I'm too young to remember) Christmas collection that's a holiday standard. The music is Italian, and 99 % of it is lovely and entertaining and all that good stuff. But one song, featuring Italian children, makes my hair stand on end. Never have I heard such an alarming noise coming out of a child. If any of my children made that noise I'd call 9-1-1. It's teeth-gritting, WHEN WILL THIS STOP! noise. To top it off, I don't know what the hell they're even singing, as it's in Italian, and not a song we sing here at the holidays. I'm surprised it doesn't shatter glass. It's that frightening. But, again, it's tradition. We sit through it, waiting hopefully for it to end. And P.S., we have a copy of this digitized collection, too. The kids usually beg us to put something else on. ANYTHING else, including the Chipmunk's Christmas. Now that is desperate.

Have a good Christmas Eve, wherever you are, whatever you do or don't celebrate. I'd invite you to eat my mother in law's food if I could – if we didn't pack the place. But enjoy the day nontheless. Even without me I hear people manage to celebrate. You're all so brave!