Well I couldn’t just continue to be a sarcastic dickhead without acknowledging the good times we’ve experienced this week.
We kind of stayed in our own little hole this season because we’re broke. We thought we’d avoid the embarrassment of not having gifts for everyone by just staying home and not putting ourselves in a situation where we’d be exposed to holiday cheer and random gift-giving… That didn’t work. Some of the sweetest people on the planet came bearing gifts and I just wanted to cry. I’ve always been the “giver” type, I just don’t know how to be the “taker”. In years past we were always so damn extravagant. If you mentioned you wanted something, I’d probably buy it for you, cost was never an issue. You’d figure we’d learn after running so lean these last couple of years but I’m still having trouble being on the other side of the equation.
Teresa and I obeyed our “no real gifts for each other” rule. We each got a couple books we’ve been waiting for since August. Bought them together and wrapped them for display under the tree. We were able to get Becca a few nice things she’s been wanting. A couple CDs and some clothes. The big gift was of course the Washington DC trip coming up in January. We considered it to be a really nice Christmas.
By hiding out, we missed our friends but we had family come in to town. ALL of them! Mom and Dad were at the house for Christmas Eve, Tammy, Jeff and Trisha were there with their kids for Christmas Day. Jerry, Scott, Jerry Sr. and the kids came in to town that night. Tonight we got to see Karen and Jeff… We had everyone together for the first time in years. Teresa is still as high as a kite from having all the family together and being able to get a photograph of all the cousins together.
No New Year’s resolutions because I don’t believe in them. If you want to start a new diet or stop smoking, any Tuesday will do rather than waiting for an artificial date like New Years. BUT, some changes are coming.
We’re going to start planning more time off. I’ve been saving up all my time at work and burning it in small doses here and there… We’ve decided to start making real vacation plans where we take off the whole week and go someplace where we can relax. I’m sick of hearing about how everyone else gets to do this, we’re making plans. Right now we’re talking about a springtime trip up to Cape Cod or an autumn trip to Disney. Maybe both, maybe neither. They could have been drug induced hallucinations but even so they’ve sparked a new fire in us. We’re going to get out of the house once in a while and we’re not going to feel guilty about allowing ourselves to have a little fun. We both work too damn hard to never get any time to ourselves.
So we had a good holiday week. We longed to see some of our friends and loved ones but selfishly chose to avoid the embarrassment of being the street urchins showing up to the black tie affair in rags. So we missed them dearly, but we were also surrounded by family and that was something special this year. The general atmosphere of love was at times overwhelming and that, Charlie Brown, is what Christmas is all about…
Here’s hoping you had a great end of the year!
(And don’t worry, the bitchiness will continue soon…)
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