Christmas thoughts

I didn't think that this Christmas was going to be a very good one. We had to tell Dara that she may not be getting anything for Christmas this year, because we are so broke. She told me that that was okay because Christmas wasn't about presents anyway. AWAWAWAW...is she not the greatest kid?

If if hadn't been for the adult ESL class that I teach twice a week, we certainly wouldn't have had the few things to give Dara that we did. I was able to get her a new staightener, a robe, slippers, and some eye shadow, and also able to get Don two pairs of Wranglers. I was sure that I wasn't going to get anything due to the fact that my family NEVER does anything for me. But they did surprise me with a pretty winter white sweater.

Dara told me that she didn't want anything anyway. She also told me that Christmas was about celebrating Jesus and being with family. I think I am the luckiest parent in the world to have a kid as great as her, when her 13 year old attitude isn't around, even then I still love her with all my heart and soul.

This was a pretty great day after all. We spent the day at my mom's new house. I cooked a prime rib roast, broccoli and rice casserole, baked potatoes, and the best cheesecake (almost as good as the vanilla bean cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory). After we sat down and ate, we cleared the table, did the dishes, and played a game of Chicken Foot and Yatzee. I don't remember a Christmas that was as pleasant as this one.

Being a child of an alcoholic, Christmas and Thanksgiving were the two holidays that I dreaded the worst. I don't remeber one holiday growing up where my dad didn't get so drunk that he became verbally obusive to my mom and then to us, mostly my mom. Holidays were a season of dread, fright, tension, constant tormoil, and such. This is the first one that I can recall that there hasn't been that feeling.

This has been a pretty good Christmas after all we have been through the last 13 months.