Yes, the official countdown to the end of the year has begun. It's the 1st of two weeks in late December where pretty much nothing other than some traveling and a lot of food consumption happens. We've officially hit that week of weeks, the highlight of most children's year...it's Christmas week.
((Imagine Spending your holiday with this guy...not me...the other guy//Photo Courtesy: Eric Hager-yes, I did it again Eric))
For us, we will be part of the traveling masses, piling Michelle, Daisy the Wonder Dog and an Xterra full of gifts onto the highways and heading south for a week of fun at my family's home in North Carolina.
Really, there is a lot to look back on since this came up a year ago. First of all, it ended my streak at 2 of having my entire family come to my house. We did that in Atlanta because it was convenient for everyone and we had a big enough house to support it. It really meant a lot to me, it made me feel like my stature in the family had grown. Now...we are the furthest away (Ohio) so that means we get to come to everyone else.
Quite honestly, I do enjoy this week though it is a little different this year. In years past, I generally was able to manipulate the week so I was on a casual schedule at work. The 10 years that I lived in Atlanta were easier...until 2007 my family was there and I just had to head across town to have dinner and enjoy the day with them. I had some control over my schedule at that point and could usually just give myself the day off. I think I worked Christmas day one time in 2005 and even then I left around 2pm.
Previous to that, in my Television Journey across the Southeast, I was able manipulate the schedule so I had the holiday off. Mostly I had to drive, though one year I had to fly in...piling up and making the hike down the highway and settling in for a couple of days of doing nothing. Not bad work if you can get it.
Michelle and I have already gotten our "Big" gift together, the mighty I-Mac that I currently write this on. I picked up a couple of more things for her...smaller, but stuff she will enjoy. For me, this is a very, very strange time. I've not entered the holiday's in the situation that I am in since I was in school. I'm not sure that I like it, but I guess that I have to deal with it. Hopefully with the year changing in 2 weeks (year end post to come later on), 2010 will bring a lot better luck than 2009 did.
Either way, I still get to enjoy the holiday with the people that I most want to. I am very, very lucky that I can say that. Though we have an 11+ hour drive ahead on Wednesday, I'm really kind of looking forward to it. There still is nothing like holiday's with family and more specifically my mothers Italian Feast night and compared to a lot of people, really I'm very, very blessed and pretty damn proud.
Enjoy one of my favorite Christmas songs of all-time: It's a crappy video someone edited on the You Tube, but Brenda Lee's classic still is great:
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