Reflecting on Christmas, etc. (Originally posted on Myspace on 12/27/07)

So, Christmas has come and gone. In case you're wondering, yes, I put up a tree. It was at work. I didn't enjoy it either. The fact that I didn't enjoy putting up the Christmas tree at work and that I didn't have a tree put up at home is merely coincidence. Jordan and I decided that if we put up a tree at home, it would be wrecked by the "kids" (2 dogs and 2 cats). I believe it was on the 24th that Jordan turned to me and said, "You know, we probably could've put one up in the spare room if we'd thought about it." Obviously, I didn't think about it. Oh well. We had "Christmas" with his brother Chase, Chase's wife Meghan, their new baby Kate (check out my pics to see her) and Meghan's mom Sheri. They had a little 24" tree. It was silver and had some ornaments. They put it on the coffee table Christmas morning, and we piled the presents around it. It was fitting, I think, to have a little tree for our little Christmas. Normally, we would all be 'home' (in Idaho) with Jordan's large family and the large Christmas tree and then to my large family and their large Christmas tree. We would all take turns opening gifts (which takes about 15-20 minutes to make one cycle through everyone). It takes a while. We took turns this year, and it obviously with just the 5 adults, it went much faster.

In Idaho, we'd have a large dinner and eat too much. Well, Chase, Meghan & Sheri made ham, green beans, pies, mashed potatoes and also had little finger foods/relish tray. We brought over prime rib, fudge (it went horribly wrong, but luckily we were hardening it up in the freezer and forgot about it so we were able to throw it away without C,M or S finding that out), gravy, deviled eggs, stuffing and a pumpkin pie. All in all, we had a lot of food, and were stuffed when the plates finally went to the sink/dishwasher. We watched tv, and just enjoyed each others' company. It was nice.

If you got a Christmas card from us, and in my quickly scrawled handwriting it said something to the effect of missing and loving you tons, it really was heartfelt. We miss all of our friends and family. No, we didn't have a little Christmastime newsletter, mostly because I didn't have time. No, the Christmas cards didn't say more than what they did, but not because I didn't want to share every little boring detail. It was because after 45 cards, I'm lucky to get out that little one or two lines legibly without my hand falling off. Actually, to tell the truth, my hand starts cramping up after about the 5th one, that's why I type most everything to people and don't hand write most anything I send out anymore. I've thought about sending out an end of year wrap-up letter now that Christmas is out of the way, and I may actually do it. If I don't, at least it's here in print that I thought about it. I'm sure that I'll have a good excuse for not doing it either.

Anyways, I hope you all had happy holidays, and hope you all know that everytime I log in and see my little friends list, I look at each one of the pictures and wonder what you're doing, and how things are going for you. I truly hope all is well, that you're not sad or stressed, and also that you might know that I think of you. I hope that you know that even if we don't talk often (even if it's been YEARS and perhaps even then we were not close) I still miss hearing the good things happening with you. I hope that even if our last words were not necessarily 'cheery' or if some harsh things were said, you still know that I don't hold a grudge. I often get over things quickly, and I miss all my friends and family the same way I would if nothing hurtful was ever said. I wish good things to you all, and I miss you.