Post-Christmas Post



Ready to see what Santa brought them!

Hey y'all! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Here we are, three days after the big holiday, and I think everyone around here is experiencing the usual post-Christmas melancholy. As much fun as it is to be reunited with friends and family, once things return to their usual schedule, it's understandable to feel a little down. Let's be honest.. that's how I feel every time I come home from a vacation. And if I feel that way now, I can't image how I'll feel one week from today, after the big New Orleans Sugar Bowl bash.

 Life's funny like that.. to experience the highs, you have to sort expect the lows to follow. Someone once said without the spikes and the dips, you're just living a flat-lined life. In other words, not living at all.

 

Anyhow, Christmas itself was a blast, per usual. My mom threw her annual Christmas party for the family on the 23rd, and we had such a great time catching up with everyone. On Christmas morning my brother and I brought our dogs over to my parents' house to open presents and eat my the breakfast casserole my mom reserves only for special occasions -- so delicious! Afterwards, my brother and I went to see Joy with my aunt. The movie was cute, but it wasn't quite what I was expecting. I won't give away any spoilers, but the entire film is about this woman's rather dull household invention. Even though the material itself wasn't that great, I can't pass up a chance to watch Bradley Cooper at work. After the movie, we returned to my house, where we camped out for the next three days, doing nothing but eating, drinking, napping, and watching movies. Those days were exactly what the doctor ordered; I can't remember the last time I've felt so relaxed and at peace.

 

Now, here we are, on Monday, back at work. Luckily, I'm only working today and tomorrow, and then I have all of Wednesday to pack, clean, and get ready for New Orleans! Obviously I'll keep you guys updated as much as I can, although these days my blog posts are few and far between. Until then, I hope you guys are all recovering well from another great Christmas!

Preserving the Memories

I know it's totally cliché, but there's something about the Christmas Season that chokes me up. The holidays always bring back memories of those we've lost along the way, and it's hard not to remember the holidays we spent with them in the past. I think I always automatically revert back to my childhood Christmas memories when my grandfather was alive.

Ironically enough, he hated Christmas. He had a little book that he brought out each year and kept on one of the side tables in the living room that described the 101 worst things about Christmas. As much as my grandfather loved our family, he was an introvert and often needed time to himself to recharge (a trait I seem to have inherited from him). I remember our loud, obnoxious annual family party leading up to Christmas Eve (which my mom now hosts each year) held at my grandparents' house. My grandfather would always wander off into an empty part of the house so that he could enjoy the silence and drink his scotch and smoke his cigarettes in peace. 

Many times I'd make it my mission to track him down and sit beside him quietly, just enjoying the faraway music and laughter as our family members celebrated being together. I think I've taken that part of him, or rather that memory of him, and in my own way I recreate it each year. There's something comforting to me about being alone with my thoughts while listening to life happen in another room. The Christmas music my grandfather loved so much -- Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney -- always brings me back to that place, and creates a deep sense of inner peace in my bones.

Whether it be a beach vacation or a holiday party, there's something in me that always causes me to step back, appreciate the moment I'm living in, and listen from a distance as those I love the most enjoy themselves. For it's these moments that will eventually fade from our reality and turn into distant memories. The best way to preserve these memories within us is to soak them up in their entirety as they happen.

NOLA New Years!

It's official!!! I'm spending New Year's Eve in New Orleans with some of my favorite people! And what's even better -- we're also there to see the Rebels play in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day! I haven't been this excited to take a trip in the longest time, so now I have something to look forward to!

I know I owe y'all a general update, so I promise I'll get to it sometime later this week. Work has been insane lately, so please give me the benefit of the doubt!