Christmas 2010 / Last Day of 2010

   Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. I love everything about it. Anticipation, excitement, picking out the right gift, enjoying family, etc. However, I have to say that the last few years have left little to look forward to next year. Let's just say that I need to rethink how I will approach Christmas holidays in the future. My children are grown now and do not hold the same excitement for the Christmas holidays as I do. Christmas has turned into more of a frustration with each passing year. I had hoped to "make memories" and continue traditions; however, after the last 4 Christmas's, it is painfully evident that it will not. I have to accept it and begin a new tradition for myself. I'm thinking vacation time. A cruise maybe. Something other than spending a fortune on gifts not appreciated, arguements over getting together, vastly amounts of money spent on food that ends up down the drain. I think that I will treasure each time my oldest daughter allows me to have my grandchildren  and make memories that way. I will buy presents for them then, and have Christmas several times throughout the year. Sounds awesome to me. To make things worse, my youngest daughter recieved devastating news on December 28. I'm not ready to post anything about this, but this has definately destroyed the holiday spirit. As I'm posting this, I know that most people are thinking about the year past, and being hopeful for the future and the aniticipation of what the new year brings. We already know that this year will bring sorrow. All I can do is pray that God has mercy on my youngest daughter, and leaves little decisions for her to make as she is agonizing on what to do. For the first time in my life, I am really dreading a new year.
   

Thanksgiving Day 2010

Ahhhhhhhh, one more holiday over with. Even though I am sounding like a "Bah Humbug" kinda person, I do have a lot to be thankful for. All four of my children, my daughter in law, son in law, and my 2 granchildren are healthy. My youngest daughter is pregnant and up to this point (3 months) her only complaint is exhaustion. My aunt and buddy are doing better health wise, and I am looking forward to spending the whole day with them this coming weekend. I have a job, home, and vehicle. I have food to eat and I am healthy. In the grand scheme of things, I am in pretty good shape. It has taken me 48 years, but I think that I am finally beginning to realize that I cannot "fix" the world....I just have to let it fix itself. As I am writing all of this, I am thinking that this is going to continue to be my focus....the grand scheme of things. For the last 6 days, I have been playing with my babies. They were so good for Grammy. We miss only one day of going to the park. They love to ride their bike down the road to the park, but on the return ride home, I am usually carrying a bike. Ha! We did some shopping for Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations. It took me 3 days to pull out all of the old Christmas stuff and get it up with a 3 and 4 year old. They were so excited, and I have to admit....I was excited too. It has been at least 5 years since I pulled out the "village." The last time I put it all up, my youngest son was home and he helped. My babies loved all this "new" Christmas stuff. I decided to attempt Walmart to pick up a train to go in our village, but Walmart was completely out. My babies were so disappointed, but I will continue to look for one and put it up before they come back to surprise them. I enjoyed them so much. My little man cried and cried when my daughter came to get them. He wasn't ready to leave Grammy, but my big man was ready to go I think. My house is so empty without them here. I didn't cook anything today. I cooked for the last 3 days, and I told the kids that if they wanted something, it was in the fridge. Last night at 12, I put on my salsa and let it cook all night. After my babies left, I sat in my rocker and popped open a beer and waited on the Saints game, which by the way.....we won! Yes, the New Orleans Saints beat the Dallas Cowboys IN Dallas.....HA! I'm saying that, but I have to say, it was a very close game. No game this Sunday, but I decided to watch the Falcons / Packers game. I have a feeling the Falcons will be a "force" to deal with this year. I'm hoping they lose! Well, nice Thanksgiving this year! I guess I'm ready to tackle Christmas now! Hmph.