Longing for Home

It's Christmas.

For those of you who know me well*, you probably understand that when I enjoy things, I'm a bit extreme about them. I might
be a little extreme in general. Christmas time = a lot of reminiscing (especially seeing as I am friends with Jessica Heath), and it's been nice to revisit those things that I used to be extreme about, and see how they've changed**.

Christmas was one of those things. I sincerely apologize to anyone that was once blinded sitting behind me in class with Christmas lights (battery powered) winding around my hair. My apologies also for the others with lockers on the second floor of MHS East Campus who had to endure the clogged hallway from visitors to the "Holiday" locker. I was a Christmas extremist, I'll admit it.- I listened to my Christmas cassette tape all through the year- I had a 3 digit Christmas countdown shirt- I marathoned every cartoon version of "A Christmas Carol". And somehow, I lost that extreme passion somewhere in between being super-emotional about the imminent high school graduation and finding new obsessions to replace the old.

I would like to say, my love for Christmas is back- but not for the same reasons... Gifts annoy me at times, I feel a little more guilty about eating 3 dozen sugar cookies, lights seem like an utter waste of electricity, I do not care about Scooby-Do being haunted by the ghost of Christmas past.
I do however love coming back here- To my wonderful family, to my beloved friends. To the soup Christmas dinner at my house, and to sitting at the kids table even though we now have a bottle of wine instead of a carafe of Kool-aid.

What's the point? I like Christmas, even though I no longer make a paper chain with 365 links, as in years past.

Schmidt/Orazem family Christmas quote of the Year:
2010: "Will you assholes stop sending me this shit? I don't even know what the hell we're talking about"
2009: "Hmmmm, maybe this explains some things (-Derek, while pulling 6 bottles of wine and an empty bottle of whiskey out of the recycling bin)








*which I realize is everyone that reads this blog...
**there are SOME things I prefer to not revisit, but inevitably will be brought up. So, Graham, let me jump ahead of you and mention Hollywood, "Amen", hyperhydrosis, and the variety show. I REGRET NOTHING!