Merry, er... Happy, umm..... Christmahannukwanzakahmas?
That subject line is for anyone at the ACLU who may happen to read this silly little mess.
'Tis the season. To be jolly? Perhaps. To be introspective? Nah, that's a normal day for me (when the PS2 is broken, the cash flow prevents me from playing golf, and the job requirements leave me little choice but to hang around the house - I have a lot of this, how you say, quiet time?).
Really it's the season to be thankful. Sure, that's what Thanksgiving is for. But if anyone else has Thanksgivings like I do, you have very little time to be thankful, what with all the planning, coaxing (or bribing), traveling, cooking, eating, drinking, football watching, dozing, and eating again.
For me, Christmastime is when I actually get to make it to my family's place in SE Indiana, and spend time with my folks and siblings. This doesn't happen often, maybe 4 or 5 times a year are we in the same place at once. Being the furthest from home makes the trips, brief as they are, all the more important and special to me. The time I get to spend with my family is a big reason to give thanks.
I'm making the trip again, as usual, with Tha Wife. This time of year is special to us for several reasons. This is our 5th Christmas together. And to be honest, there was a time where I didn't think I'd spend another Christmas with her. When we briefly split up, my world was pretty shaken. I knew she was going to become Tha Wife, why the heck couldn't she anymore? Well she eventually did, and we were back together, and I found myself re-proposing to her on our 3rd Christmas. Needless to say, Christmas reminds me of how thankful I am to have Tha Wife in my life.
My life is far from perfect. I mean, most of you know what I look like, so it's obvious I'm not perfect. I have my debts (and there are plenty), I have my faults (laziness, and I'm too lazy to list the rest), and I have my failings (one of them being my sudden inability to see my toes). But Christmas has this way of removing them, if only for a little while, and allowing me to see everything that's right in my life, as well as giving me hope and encouragement that things can get even better.
That's a gift that I don't mind getting year after year, either.
But the gift cards to Home Depot and the DVDs and video games are pretty sweet, too.