One of the many joys of the Christmas season is the way this time of year diverts my attention away from mere politics, public policy and the lunacy attached to all of it in these wacky times.

I won’t mention any names in this blog post. You know about whom I refer. So, I’ll leave it at that.

Christmas gives me a chance to enjoy my family. They gathered with me today in my North Texas home for a little bit of Christmas Eve cheer. We didn’t utter a single sentence about politics.  I’ll see them again tomorrow morning, when we meet once again to open gifts, munch on some snacks, sip a little coffee and fruit punch. I might even indulge in a root beer float with my granddaughter.

We’re going to laugh like we’ve gone insane. We’ll watch my puppy, Sabol, traipse in and out of her doggy door. If it’s raining tomorrow, no worries there. Sabol loves rainfall and she’ll likely spend the bulk of her day outdoors.

But soon enough — too soon, to tell you the truth — Christmas will pass. My attention will direct itself to the news of the day. I will return to commenting on it, perhaps with a bit more venom than I normally would like.

Then again, that’s what I do. I also plan to finish my memoir by the end of the first quarter of 2025. You know about that, right? It’s something my bride talked me into writing for my sons and for my immediate family. It chronicles my nearly four decades as a print journalist and recounts the amazing people I was able to meet and the incredible things I was privileged to do during that span of time.

The end is far closer to me than the beginning. So that’s progress. I intend to send it off to a friend who has promised me to edit it at the “friends and family” rate.

That task awaits me in 2025. Meanwhile, y’all have a joyous Christmas. See you on the flip side.