Boxing Day arrived with company!

Our friend showed up today, right as Yuletide was loosening its grip. One more bag by the door. One more coat finding a place to land. The house adjusted without comment, as if it had been expecting this all along.

We stayed in. Outside could wait. Roanoke settled into its quiet rhythm, the valley doing its own Boxing Day breathing. The mountains stayed put. The roads stayed light. None of it felt urgent enough to interrupt the inside of the house.

Conversation filled the spaces between things. Food appeared in low-effort ways. Someone laughed from the kitchen. Someone else wandered off to look out a window for a while. The day unfolded without instructions.

Boxes still leaned where they had been left. Wrapping paper kept pretending it might be useful again. A gift still needed batteries and still did not get them.

Boxing Day is good at this. Making room. Letting the noise fade without taking the warmth with it.

A friend here for a week or so. A quiet house learning a new shape.

That was enough.

#boxingday #roanokeva #housefull #quietmagic #winterpause