Merry Christmas

So, today is Christmas. It's not the Christmas of my youth: no tree brimming with presents underneath, no constant ringing of the doorbell, no turkey, no camcorder recording happy faces, no dog trying to sneak some people food. No, that kind of Christmas died with my father 12 years ago. Nowadays, Christmas is a small event. Tiny, actually. Mom, my sister, her husband and me. I'm single and my sister doesn't have kids, so it may be small for a while. And this year, my sister and her husband couldn't make it today so we will be having our Christmas lunch tomorrow (with our new tradition of gumbo and potato salad). So my mom and did what we've done many Christmases recently: we went to the movies. We saw "P.S. I Love You." Great movie, but not the best Christmas movie for my mom and myself - we were bawling the entire time. Mom told me I'm not to choose the movie next year.

I miss the Christmases of my youth. I miss my father. I miss being in a large, loving family. I love my mom and I cherish the times spent with her, but I get wistful at this time. After leaving my mom's, I went for a 6 mile run at Memorial Park. I didn't get to run the wistfullness out of me, because all around the park were happy, loving couples; kids running around with their moms and dads; older couples holding hands while walking. It made me feel alone. Hopefully one day I'll have the large, fun, exciting Christmas again. But for now, it's movies with Mom and a good run. And really, how can I complain about those things? It's two things I truly enjoy!

Cheers!