This year we got an extra Christmas present from the federal government - extended Christmas holiday! We had already planned to have Brandon take Christmas Eve and Boxing Day off, but then the president gave everyone (well, all the federal workers) Christmas Eve off and then the shutdown gave a lot of people Boxing Day (plus two more days) off also.
Here in Tashkent, which is part of the former Soviet Union, the big holiday is New Year's, so the embassy also has Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off.
So for those of you who are counting, that is twelve days off. It's the longest Brandon has ever been off work without traveling or being on maternity medevac with me and the children.
So what have we being doing with all our time off? We spent Christmas Eve cooking and enjoying amazing Brazilian food with members of the church group here, we hung out all Christmas, and the day after Christmas we did more of the same (but without opening presents).
I had planned on having Brandon off for three days, but not on Thursday or Friday, so he got to tag along for our regularly-scheduled activities. We got our teeth cleaned, folded laundry, went to horseback riding lessons, and had a couple of play dates. But everyone did enjoy not having to wake up early or have oatmeal for breakfast.
Brandon's mostly enjoying his unexpected holiday, save for a report that is supposed to be sent in to DC in mid-January. But, since he has been deemed non-essential, he's not allowed to go and work on it and I suppose a shutdown is a valid excuse for not getting things done. He's had a grand time spending hours on the phone with his best friend in Utah and is making his way through last year's Christmas books.
We've always kept a very large cash reserve for expenses like evacuations, medical bills in foreign countries, home leave, and attractive carpets that we can't leave behind, so we're not in financial difficulty because of the shutdown. It doesn't hurt either that we don't pay for our housing. My only regret is that I didn't have a crystal ball so that I could have planned a fun vacation to take advantage of the time off.
I'm sure by the end of our time together, everyone will probably be happy to get back to the regular routine and have a little less quality time together, but for now we're enjoying it. Merry Christmas to us!