As the year 2022 comes to a close, it's a good time to reflect on all that we have to be grateful for. I hope that all of you are able to enjoy time with friends and family. For me, this time of year makes me nostalgic for waking up at grandma’s house, for sleepovers with my cousins, for baking shortbread cookies with my mom and for all the weird family traditions that have been created over the years. One of my most vivid memories of Christmas is when my pappaw told me that he was pretty sure Santa would prefer a ham sandwich and a beer to cookies and milk… I promptly asked my mother for a ham sandwich and a beer. I wasn’t about to upset Santa! Funny how the most insignificant things at the time can result in the longest lasting memories. Now that I’m older, my family is spread out across Tennessee and rarely gets to gather for the holidays because of our busy schedules. We do get together as a family in January, though. Christmas in January has become a family tradition. We gather for dinner and usually have mom’s famous breakfast casserole the next day. One of our favorite after dinner activities is playing a game together. Our game of choice has varied over the years. We’ve played Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble, Monopoly and really any other game we had around the house. Our current game is Cards Against Humanity or the version my mother was given one year, Bards Dispense Profanity. Whatever your family tradition is, I hope that you find time to gather with your loved ones and enjoy it. And to my family - looking forward to January!

-Liz