The Eclectic Mix

What a great week it’s been. Really. A great Christmas, wonderful time with family, and I’m actually feeling like a good parent after it.

The great Christmas experiment went well. We told the kids that we were cutting back on gifts this year, and they were all pretty gracious about it, and all seemed pretty happy about what they got. At least, there were no complaints out loud about it, and as a parent, I think that’s all you can expect. But, the icing on the cake was being told by the girls that this was one of the best Christmases ever.

Jenni’s spending her gift cards on Amazon and Barnes and Noble online, and even some iTunes stuff, so she seems happy with that. She’s watched the entire first season of Farscape in just a few days, so my gift to her (the entire series on DVD) seems to have been a good choice.

I got some great clothes from her and a DVD of a season of a TV show I love, so that was great. And I used the deep fryer from the in laws for the first time tonight to make some homemade fries. Tomorrow, now that I’ve gotten the lay of the land as far as that contraption goes, I’ll go to work and make some New Year’s Eve tempura for the gang for dinner…Yum! Top that kitchen gadget off with a digital kitchen scale and instant-read thermometer, and I’m pretty happy.

Last night, we had the last of our Christmas celebrations with my parents and sister and her family. And I don’t know what was better, really: the walk to Macy’s 8th floor for the Christmas display in the auditorium, cooking the dinner with mom and Julie, opening the presents, or just the whole package–cousins having a great time playing, adults having a fun time talking and enjoying each other’s company, or all eleven of us at the same table for a dinner.

The trip to Rochester was a blast, in spite of a few insomnia issues. We had a great two bedroom suite, a fun time swimming with the family, a huge gathering in mom and dad’s suite, then the wonderful birthday party the next day at which nothing seemed wrong or out of place.

In the meantime, I’ve unplugged from work, and am enjoying some fairly unstructured downtime with the family…And by that, I mean that we all seem to need some time to just live life without too much burden. We’re taking it easy, probably watching too much TV, or watching too many movies, or playing too many video games, or what-have-you. But one important thing is that we seem to be doing more of that together this week than we have in the past few months. It’s led to a kind of modern-day familial rejuvenation, much needed by all, I think. But I am appreciating having been schooled in the Alan Lathrop school of vacation time–take four days vacation, and get 11 days off work. Guess you had it right all along, dad.

I’m on the down-side of the week off, heading into the last of the seasonal festivities–New Year’s. So far, the planning has gotten as far as the fake bubbly, tempura, probably some pretzel making and going to a movie on New Year’s Day. All with my wonderful, loud, large family.

And I’m really appreciating the fact that I wouldn’t want them any other way.

Check back tomorrow for the blog-year-in-review!

See you tomorrow!

…And a Merry Freakin’ Christmas to you, too…

And I guess a Happy New Year, as long as I’m being humiliated…

Ah, who the hell cares?

Well, Christmas is mostly done for our clan. Just a celebration with my parents and Julie and John and their kids left to go, but that’s next week.

In between here is the grand blowout in Rochester this weekend. We’ll depart tomorrow and spend the night, then party on Sunday. So if there isn’t anything posted tomorrow evening, you’ll know why.

Otherwise, the kids all seemed to have a great Christmas–not over-the-top, price-wise, but still pretty good. Good gifts, great food (yes, I cooked both nights), good times.

The snowmaggeddon seemed to not live up to all of the hype, though it was pretty big, nonetheless. But this morning, when I ran one quick errand, I found that on top of the heavy, wet snow, it was raining, which made it that much heavier and wetter. Slushtastical, in fact. There is nothing quite like trying to drive through 8-10″ of slush, at least without tracks and skis.

But, in the end, the whole place looks suitably Christmas-y, with mounds and piles of snow giving the whole land a fresh white look. It kind of restores the local ideal of Christmas, especially considering the brown celebrations of the last few years.

My hope is that you and yours all had a fine Christmas as well, replete with family and/or friends, celebration, and good times.

Pictures and more details coming later.

See you, if not tomorrow, then Sunday.

I put the Christmas music on the iPod at work today for the first time in earnest. It seems late, and the truth is, it probably is. But that’s the way life works, especially each successive year, it seems. So much to do, so little time free to do it in.

I’ve been a tad grumpy lately. Probably overtired. Stressed, and probably short-fused with my family. Lord knows I was grumpy when I got home from work tonight. Might have even snapped at people. Didn’t really mean to, when it comes right down to it.

But that’s what “the holidays” seem to turn us all into. And you’d think it shouldn’t be that way. Life goes on. Christmas celebrating will still happen, whether I’ve got the truffles done or not. A few days later won’t make a difference in the grand scheme of life, right? Troubles at work shouldn’t make me anxious for vacation, or even start thinking about coming back to work with six days of e-mail to catch up on.

Yet the world won’t slow down for anyone, or at least not for individuals like you and I. There are still grand expectations, to-do lists, goals to accomplish, and money to be made. But most importantly, there’s still good to do in the world. Every single day. And the bonus is that has no timeline.

Maybe we appreciate family gatherings at the holidays because they stop time. At least for those few hours, perhaps spread over a few days, maybe even with different groups. For a while, watching my kids open their presents and play and laugh and talk to family, time just stops, or at the very least, it becomes irrelevant. There’s no deadline for where to be, at least nothing that forces any issue. It’s just life–the way it should be.

Maybe that’s part of what Thanksgiving is meant to make us thankful for. That pause in life with good food and good people. And maybe Christmas, in addition to the deep religious roots, is about love and family and just living in that moment: the moment where everyone feels joy and happiness and love and worth. Because they know that someone cared enough about them to invite them to a gathering, and perhaps even give them a gift.

It’s probably a never-ending mystery, what the magical “it” is that we’re all supposed to “get” at this time of year. So many people seem to ask the question “Don’t you get it?” And that it, while everyone seems to think they know what it means, is probably too nebulous to define. Is it the love? Is it the birth of Jesus? Is it family and togetherness? Is it just that brief time to gather and reflect on your life?

Or is it just…It? That mysterious something that fills us all with everything all at once–feelings that can cause tears, smiles, and that warm feeling.

Whatever “it” is, I hope you and your loved ones find plenty of “it” this Christmas.

See you tomorrow.

Tough weekend here at Casa del Lathropworld. Tough not in that it was bad, just busy with no real let up until just a couple of hours ago.

Friday night, I went to do as much of our Christmas shopping as possible. It actually went well, so that was good.

Saturday and Sunday were filled with the requisite church time for this season. Saturday afternoon was the rehearsal for the kids’ Christmas program at Sunrise. Then Saturday night kept us busy with an event at Sunrise.

This morning–up early, off to church early, then the youth (including Patrick) led the worship service, and all three Lathrops participated in the Christmas program.

Well, technically, all five of us did–the kids in it, me reading four poems, and Jenni orchestrating all the kids who were in the program.

All went very well with that. Patrick did a great job for his part in leading worship, and all three did a great job in the living nativity that was the church program. And Jenni got many complements for putting it together. So good stuff there.

The rest of the day was split–church activities to finish the day, and I had things to do at home.

It was a good weekend–mostly fun, just tiring and draining and long.

All ended at 8 this evening. So now, Patrick and I face the return to real life tomorrow–I have work through Wednesday, and Patrick still has school until Thursday. Jenni and the girls get some downtime, fortunately. Well deserved.

So, I’m cutting this entry short so I can get a little more time out of my weekend. More of our blogged Christmas card tomorrow.

See you tomorrow.