I started out my xmas holiday on Tuesday night with a trip to the local haunt. It was both satisfying and disappointing as usual. Do you feel like you are getting to know me yet?

Wednesday I took the day off work. I slept in and listened to the bells ring in from the church next door. I wrapped presents and took care of a few errands and then headed over to my dads to spend christmas eve (day). They had a bunch of friends over, most of whom I didn’t know that well. My soon to be stepsister was there with her husband. I kind of knew her cause I went to high school with her. Also and old friend from new york showed up. I ate tons of cocktail shrimp and had a generally mellow evening and watched my brother and Pandy get drunk and try to hide it. My brother was the only one brave enough to try and rock the boat a little by talking politics and blaming all the problems in the middle east on the old people in the room selling weapons to Iraq in the early eighties. Everyone was so new to each other that things were exceptionally civil for a family holiday.

On Christmas morning we exchanged gifts with my father and had breakfast. The exchanging of gifts remains to this day the most enjoyable holiday tradition in my opinion. Tragically, a large apartment complex a block from my dads new house burnt down while we played poker. I won a dollar. Then we went over to my mom’s for Christmas dinner and to exchange gifts. I spent the day playing records on my new player my mom gave me. I decided to stay the night at my mom’s and drink lots of beer and smoke lots of cigarettes and bask in the warm glow provided the twinkly tree light nostalgia of Christmas spent in my childhood home. My mom and me stayed up till 3 in the morning talking about friends and mistakes and love and lessons and life.

It was a wonderful Christmas. Somehow I’m always surprised and thrilled by the great family I have.