Among the many things I discovered this holiday season is that it really is possible to be a parent and sleep in on Christmas morning.

I’d all but given up the notion that I might feel anything but queasy from sleep deprivation on Christmas day, after nearly 15 years of parenthood, but sleep in I did, until nearly 7 a.m. Hallelujah!

Santa won’t soon forget this act of kindness, dear children. It’s a first for me and rates right up there with my other all-time favorite Christmas moments, including one that happened this year on Christmas Eve, after the kids and my niece, Erin, decorated their last batch of Christmas cookies.