Random Thoughts from 2009 - Day 2

In honor of Christmas Day and the fact that my father is giving me sh*t for not writing a blog for him to read in 2 days, I think my random thought of today is that Christmas is absolutely cool! Tom and I made it home to Corinth this year with only about a 15 minute flight delay which is about 2 hours and 45 minutes better than our escapade last year. As we stumbled in to the airport at 12:15 a.m., the Albany airport was bustling, something that you might see 2 - 3 times per year. Families were out in full force with ugly Christmas sweaters, reindeer ears on their heads and Santa hats. Luckily for us, my parents refrained from that nonsense!

Christmas is a time to be lazy. When else do you have the opportunity to eat a lot of all your favorite foods, not exercise and not feel bad about it? Christmas is all about family and celebrating the birth of Jesus and we take these things seriously. However, we take some of our other traditions pretty serious as well. Every year, I wear a red plaid skirt to church. This skirt makes it appearance maybe twice a year but always seems festive for Christmas Eve mass. Who cares that the people I see at church every year think I own one outfit? I rock that outfit! I have pictures of me sitting in front of the tree every year rocking that outfit. The shoes and the shirt may change but the skirt is a tradition.

Another custom we have is going to see a movie on Christmas night. After presents, trying on new clothes and stuffing ourselves to the gills, the movies give us a reason not to put our pajamas on at 7 p.m. This year we watched It's Complicated - can't remember what we saw last year, but I am sure it was equally as must see. It doesn't matter what movie it is, it matters that we get there early to get a seat and complain about the bad pre-movie show that we have to suffer through.

Alcohol is another fun custom. We have a morning drink, afternoon drinks, drinks with dinner and if we can still stand, a night cap. Everything seems more festive with a martini glass in your hand!

Over the year's I remember my grandmother spending the night on the couch on Christmas Eve and waiting patiently for us to be allowed out of our rooms at 7 a.m. for the fun to begin. I remember the Secret Santa gifts from Christmas Eve where you drew names (between the 4 of us) and had to buy a $5 gift. I remember we forced my Dad to actually buy his gift by himself instead of making my Mom do it!

I remember eating at Macaroni Grill in Ann Arbor on Christmas Eve as that was one of the only restaurants open and I remember going to see the play Scrooge with Mom, Dad and Tom where my Dad was the only one that thought the 1 man play was not a snore. Growing up, I remember my sister and I fighting to have the last present to open and counting how many boxes we had under the tree making sure that the other one did not even get one more!

Now, I talk to my sister on the phone like 5 times on Christmas Day and I laugh at my niece and nephew dressed as Mr and Mrs Santa Claus until the pee and throw-up on those outfits and change to being a reindeer and a polar bear. I listen to my niece KellieLynn tell me that I need to go home right now and play Wii Fit Plus because it is totally fun and that she is going to beat Uncle Tom at it the next time she sees him!

Now, I hang out with my husband who eats my Mom's homemade fudge like it is a food group, eat up my Mom's yummy food and watch my Dad stop and try out every Christmas present he gets, stopping present opening for at least 3 minutes each time.

Oh, well, I guess it's time to make another round of Martinis and be thankful for my awesome life!