Catching up ... post holiday

Four days just sped by like a whirlwind. So, I'm just getting to the catching up part as I attempted to stay off computers during the Christmas visit home. Here we go:

Day 12: Christmas Eve
When I was a kid, my sister and I used to follow this routine of begging my mom to start a new tradition where we were able to open one gift on Christmas Eve. How did that work out? Not so much. But this year, with my sister married and lots of family gatherings to deal with, we decided to open several of the presents between my sister, me and my mom -- and the brother-in-law Michael too. We had a great dinner together and then settled around my mom's beautiful tree. It was a lot of fun, though a little odd to be opening gifts before Santa arrives. : ) But we're on to new traditions in my family. I gave some nice gifts to Kate and Michael and received some lovely ones myself -- including a Wii from all of them and my mom.

Day 13: Christmas
This is the BIG day of giving. And my family takes it to heart. We love to give presents and probably give way too many. I've always loved Christmas because it is an excuse for me to give presents without people looking at me strange. I just love to give people things and without an excuse like the holiday, sometimes it seems a little odd to folks.
I love seeing people's faces as they realize what they've gotten that they either didn't expect or it was exactly what they wanted. I'm not going to lie, I love opening presents too. I know that's not necessarily in the spirit of the 29 gifts concept, but who doesn't like to get a pretty package? I gave my dad a journal, because several people have been urging him to document how this experience with cancer goes. I believe in journaling -- kind of doing that now -- so I gave him one to get him started hopefully.

Day 14:
Today I gave my sister Alex -- a full-fledged teenager in angst -- a shopping trip to the after Christmas sales. I gave her things to open on Christmas but figured she would want to pick out her own clothes. She's obsessed with skinny jeans, so I fulfilled her need by finding her some cool, skinny cords at the Gap. For me, the real gift was being able to spend time together. But she's 16 so who knows if she sees that as a gift or not. I'm hopeful that some day she will appreciate it for that.

Day 15:
Traveling home was not high on my list of fun things to do. It just so happens that I would be flying out of the same Detroit airport where a thwarted terrorist attempt occurred on Christmas. But I summoned up my patience and braved the lines to check my bag -- something I normally try not to do but figured it would be easier and more hassle-free to deal with. I made it through with pretty minimal hassle and without losing my temper, so that was a gift in and of itself. My aunt picked me up at the airport and for my gift of the day, I took her to dinner.

Day 16: finally up to date ...
First day back at work ... seems like I never left. There aren't many people here today so it's been pretty quiet. Got drafted to cover a funeral tomorrow for two little boys killed in a fire on Christmas. Everyone else was whining about how they didn't want to have to cover such a sad event ... seriously? What do they think I do all the time? Nearly everything I write about it sad and I don't love doing it, but I hope I bring some compassion to the table when I do it.

Today's gift I'm planning to give to my friend Sarah. It was her birthday yesterday so I have a little gift for her. And we're going to a movie after eating some home made gumbo so that will be fun too.

I'm hoping to get to sleep at a normal hour, my system has been out of whack for weeks. I want to head to the gym in the morning because I think that could really help with the mood.

I always have a little let down after the holiday. And it was hard to come home to an empty house after so much family activity. But I keep repeating to myself that 2010 is going to be my year and I think there will be a lot of wonderful things in store for me this next year. And like Death Cab says this loneliness and heartbreak will seem like "a series of blurs, like never occurred."