Bestest Christmas in a While..

Today has been a most amazing Christmas, and I'd have to rank it number two on my list of all time Christmases. The only one that would top it would be one back in 1988 where I got to see my grandmother during the holidays because my mom and step dad were living in Valentine, Nebraska and I went to see them over Christmas Break. Nice place, that Nebraska, but honestly, I was glad to be going back to Spokane. That might say something about the trip right there...

girl and I were up to 3 AM wrapping gifts last night, as we spent the afternoon and night with her dad's family. It was a load of fun to see all of them, and of course I ate too much, but we got home around 11 Pm and it was time to wrap the last bit of gifts. Most of them were easy to wrap, but the big challenge was to wrap the gift we got girl's mom, a portable fire pit. It was too big to wrap with just one thing of wrapping paper, and we had plenty of wrapping scraps lying about. If you remember the show Boohbah! (which is one of our absolute favorites), the gift the kids present to the story people is wrapped in all sorts of wrapping combinations, shiny paper and ribbons. Let's just say we did the fire pit wrapping Boohbah justice, with all sorts of random shards of paper glued and taped in crazy patterns. The look on her face when we brought it into the room in Boohbah style was truly a classic moment.

I also got Simpsons stuff, the movie and season 10 on DVD. I love the Simpsons, and the movie was one of my absolute favorites from this summer. I also got some very personal and fun gifts from girl, which was great. I also got a chance to talk with my dad and sister on the holiday as well. Dad loved the Portland Timbers kit I gave him, but thought it was a T-Shirt and I had to explain to him it was the actual shirt they wear on the field. My sister had just given birth to my first niece, and things between us have been strained over the past few months. But we talked like we had when we were younger, and it was a truly amazing talk to clear the air and just be each other's family again. It was very special to me, and I treasure it more now with my mom's passing. I love my family, crazy antics and all.

But to top off the evening, girl and I watched the Portland Trail Blazers win their eleventh game in a row over their Northwest rival Seattle Supersonics. Neither team played well overall, but as with the current streak, the team pulled it together when needed and Brandon Roy carried them at other times. It was fun to see the national audience get to see what we here see all the time, a unselfish, fun team that is playing with a lot of confidence and chemistry. The Trail Blazers are for real, and I think this year they will continue to surprise folks. And now, it's time to clean up our room and get ready for a full day of EPL matches tomorrow!! Whoo hoo. You really can't beat this time of year!!!

This Time of Year

I've been reading my blog posts lately, and as with anything that gets published, I'd probably do some things a lot differently. I tend to write in a conversational way, with very little editing done while I'm going as I don't want to interrupt the creative process. Sometimes, the results can be truly inspiring, while other times, you could use the story of a million monkeys with a million typewriters.

I tend to be a positive person by nature, although the world sometimes frustrates me. I understand that bad things happen, that's part of the whole equation but what bothers me is that people tend to contribute to this sometimes without realizing it. In the time of year that we should all be kind towards our fellow men and women, I've found that most people are too busy paying attention to the sales, specials and bling of the holiday than truly being cheerful. I've been yelled at while texting girl at a local Freddy's on Saturday cause I was in the way, I've had cars come at me from seeming every direction on the road, and nearly run over numerous times in stores just trying to maneuver around people as they try to figure out what they are doing. In being stressed about it, I've allowed them to take some of my holiday spirit and I'm going to take it back now.

I am spending tonight with girl's dad and his new family as he just got married earlier this year. On Christmas, I'm going to talk with my sister who just recently had her first child, my incredibly cute niece who I plan on spoiling as much as I can. I will also spend time with girl and her mom opening gifts, and then later visiting her grandparents before we head down to watch the Trail Blazers on Christmas Day play the SuperSonics. I've never actually done anything like this on a holiday, and I'm actually looking forward to it. I've also taken the week off from work, so my week will be filled with rest and relaxation because I'm remembering what this time of year is supposed to be about.

It's not about presents, it's not about toys, it's not about shiny things or stuff that makes noise, it's about the feeling you get when you share from yourself, and spend time with your family and friends and show them how much they matter to you. Sometimes, simple words and actions can be enough, but it's important to remember who you are, where you came from, and the many people that helped you get to that point. And for those folks that bugged me, I hope you have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and remember what the holidays are about.