denouement /n./ the outcome of a sequence of events, the end result. any final revelation or outcome. climax. completion. windup.

denouement /n./ 1. I finally reached the denouement of my Christmas preparations. This has brought joy, and relief, and also a bit of anxiety about "what I forgot."

denouement /n./ 2. My kids finished the first half of the school year this Wednesday, the denouement to five months of spelling lists, AR reading, math facts, spanish vocabulary, and papers on the Hopi Indians. I'm not sure we'll make it through the second half. I plan to do nothing but play with them (my own version of hibernation) for the next two weeks.

denouement /n./ 3. We finished The Best Christmas Pageant Ever this week. My kids were on the edge of their seats for the denouement, just sure the Herdman's would ruin the pageant. When I was younger I played both Gladys and Imogene (in different years) in a community play. I still remember yelling at the shepherds, "Hey! Unto you a child is born!" and standing on that stage holding the baby Jesus, tears running down my cheeks. The real denouement for me, though, is that full-circle feeling of reading these same lines to my own children. Makes me dizzy to think about it.

denouement /n./ 4. We had a little cousin-Christmas party tonight at our house, the denouement of my children's pre-Christmas activities. We ate dinner and made gingerbread sleds (houses were way too ambitious), and the kids exchanged gifts. The best line of the night, "Thanks, Brina! I always wanted a harmonica!" said by Ethan, who just discovered harmonicas for the first time this past Wednesday night.

denouement /n./ 5. My brother, Timothy, and his wife, Christine, had their first baby this week. Luke Timothy Deaton.

His birth was the denouement of a pregnancy fraught with worry and concern. Luke was born with spina bifida and underwent surgery early Thursday morning, just hours after entering the world. The surgery could not have ended more miraculously. Luke went home with his grateful parents today (!) and is right now snuggled in their arms in their very own home. An unbelievable denouement under any circumstances, and an absolute miracle in these difficult ones.