Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!

With our son, Tim, arriving home for Christmas from Nebraska this week, it will be a case of planes, trains and automobiles for him to get here. Thank goodness for the train — the Amtrak Downeaster — which is celebrating its 15th year in 2016 of providing service between Boston and Portland. Tim has used the train in the past to get from Boston to Portland or Brunswick, or vice versa, and it has saved us from picking him up or dropping him off in Boston (although last year he missed the train because his flights got delayed and yours truly and our son-in-law, Robbie, made an unplanned trip to Boston for Tim's 11:45 p.m. arrival. Glad it was only raining that night). It's a matter of traveling in bad weather, which I don't like to do.

We have used the train to get to Boston and back a few times and having a depot in Brunswick makes it more convenient than boarding in Portland. Although not as comfortable as a car seat, train travel means you don't have to put up with turnpike traffic for almost three hours. Traveling to Brunswick and back to Boothbay is a breeze in comparison. You can also get meals on board without having to stop along the way.

With the train running in almost any weather, Tim will be able to leave Brunswick on Monday night at 6 p.m. to catch his 6 a.m. flight out of Logan International Airport in Boston. He'll take a bus or taxi from one of the Boston depots to the airport and either check into a hotel or rest in the airport before his trip back to Omaha.

Yes, Tim could have scheduled a flight into Portland — but that's another story! We're just glad we have the train to count on and we hope it continues running for many years to come.