And then it's over...

The thing about Christmas is that you spend the better part of November and definitely December building up to it. There’s the shopping, the wrapping, the eating, the parties, the sending of Christmas cards, the calling and inviting, and wishing of good tidings, the anticipation of giving and getting “just the right” gift…and then, in a flash…it’s over.

I love Christmas. I’ve always loved Christmas, and even though the last few years I tend to suffer a bit of the Holiday blues, and this year especially my spirit kicked in late, I still LOVE Christmas. I love all the preparations. I love seeing friends I don’t see the rest of the year (which is really sad and I need to make amends on this), I love the shopping, the wrapping, etc. etc.

I HATE IT when it’s over. I’m like a little kid in this respect. When it ends I feel very empty and sad. “It’s done? Really? OH…well, now what?” And don’t even say “now you have New Year’s to look forward to, because unlike Christmas, I HATE New Year’s Eve. But THAT is another blog entry.

Back to Christmas, I’m happy to say that my earlier fears of this Christmas not being a good one were unfounded. I had an excellent Christmas. It was different for sure, with half of the family having been in California, it couldn’t have been the same (missed you gusy). But it was WONDERFUL anyway. I finally had a chance to spend Christmas Eve with Kayla, and also brought along her little sister Joanne, and along with my brother’s friends, we had an extended family at the house, and had a great, fun time. There was laughter, hugs, joy and just all around good cheer. Mom’s great home cooking didn’t hurt either.

We broke with some traditions (didn’t make it to midnight mass this year as I had to have the girls home by 11), and started some new ones (opening gifts right after dinner), but still kept up with others (everyone opened their gifts ONE at a time, so that we could all see exactly what everyone received). Everyone was happy with what Santa brought them. I’m happy to report that my brother loved his gift from me, which I had been excited about for WEEKS (a very nice framed “Scarface” picture); and Kayla just about choked the breath out of me with the hug she gave me after opening her gifts from me (various Hello Kittie odds and ends, including a comforter, for her bedroom). Personally I was thrilled with every single gift I got, from the MP3 player that I was expecting to the surprises like the Sims2 game, clothes, godiva chocolates (thanks Danny), to the awesome journal that my cousin put together for me (it was SOOO sweet Monica), to Kayla’s little hand-blown glass unicorn figurine and everything else…I loved everything.

So, Christmas Eve ended earlier than usual this year, and I was actually home by about 11PM, which was weird. But I watched some TV, fell asleep on the couch, transferred over to the bed, and woke up in a great mood on Christmas day. Christmas Day I played with my MP3 Player, lounged around, and went to mom’s for a bit, and then to a friend of the family’s for dinner. Left there around 8 to go home and play with the Sims2..took me 2 ½ hours to install it (thanks to having to download new drivers and all kinds of crap so my computer would be compatible). Gee, what fun that was. Needless to say, after all that I played until the wee hours of the morning. I can see that this game will have me in front of the computer for hours and hours on end. Seeing as I don’t usually have hours and hours on end to play…this should be interesting…I’m very excited about it anyway! ;-)

Monday morning my cat gave me a late Christmas present and let me sleep until 9:30AM. I then got up, played with my cd’s to put stuff on the computer that I could download into the MP3 Player, and then went to mom’s for lunch, as we were doing another Christmas lunch with my uncle who had just returned from California. Lunch was fun, and it was nice to get to see my aunt and uncle, and my cousin’s boyfriend, who also joined us for lunch. A little after lunch my brother’s godparents showed up, with their daughter. There was a lot of chatting, drinking, eating and being merry all over again this day. It was almost 8pm by the time we all remembered that unfortunately the next day was a workday. I made my way home, once again played on the computer for a bit with my cd collection, watched a movie, and went to bed. However, sleep was nowhere to be found, and I read until about 1 in the morning.

Waking up to come to work this morning was NOT fun, and the “oh, it’s over” feeling slowly set in, making it even tougher. The saving grace is that it’s already Tuesday, and Friday is a half day…yay!

Anyway, had a wonderful Christmas, they should all be this wonderful for everyone. Hope you all had a great one too and that Santa was right on point with all your presents.

Now I’m off to go shopping for accessories for the MP3 player…It’s definitely my new favorite toy.