Believing in equality of genders is one thing — believing in difference in genders is something else. That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it.

We made it through Christmas without the usual strife and stress that tends to overcome one during the holidays, my wife Rita and me — thank you very much.

Our son Thomas was arriving from Hawaii on Monday following Christmas to spend a week. We haven’t seen him in a year, so anticipation is running fairly high. Or should I say very high.

The frenzy usually associated with the holiday has unmasked itself as the favored (read only) child (he’s actually 28) returns home frenzy.

During Saturday morning’s cold breezy spell, I was sweeping the roof of our car shed. This was after helping a nephew drag a 300 pound deer (he said it weighed about 150) up and down a creek to get it onto awaiting motorized transit.

The next day I was hanging curtains that are replacing 20-year-old blinds that were never drawn anyway.

A trip to the grocery store on Saturday night produced more groceries than have been purchased at once since 2004 when we actually had time to eat at home.  When twice offered by my mother-in-law a piece of her killer coconut cake my wife chirps in, “Yeah, he looks like he needs a piece of your coconut cake.”

Later Sunday afternoon I convinced her I needed to take a nap in the truck (still being tired from dragging a deer and sweeping a roof the previous day) while she went in the super store for pansies.

When I awoke, good Samaritans Ronnie, Tracy Goforth and their daughter Marlee were unloading trees, bushes, flowers, bags of potting soil and fertilizer into the back of my truck. It was instant landscaping, and I had slept through its acquisition.

When we returned home it was time to clean base boards and wash curtains. It was time to sweep the carport and rake leaves. We haven’t raked leaves in two or three years. We live next to the woods and eventually nature blows them away.

“I just want it to look like somebody lives here,” I was told.

And all this for a guy who just a few short years ago we were reminding to use soap when he showered.

Happy holiday frenzy to all!