we do christmas so all out that i used to clown us and now fully recognize it is my favorite time of year. getting to just go all out in giving to people you love feels good. everything falls into perspective. there’s a world somewhere where the transit strike ended badly, i know i have to go back there in a few days. but not yet…not yet.
my mom and her family raised money to cover 8 families in mississippi for christmas this year instead of giving each other extravagant gifts. and even though my parents were coming from japan and my sister autumn and i were coming from ny and we were at my sister’s roommate’s house, we still did it our way, big christmas eve dinner, wake up super early to see what santa brought for us girls, then my parents in a gift war involving ipods, translation devices, and massive golf books.
this year for our dinner my sister april’s boyfriend stanley joined us, and we got to find out how smart and funny and excellent at spades he is. it was too cute to watch him and my dad enter into a challenging football conversation, by the end of which they were speaking purely in acronyms. apparently the acc is the vip of the cb realm, and the indy-bowl is fine for this year for usc. stanley is a star defensive…lineman? for the gamecocks. he’s the one who dances on the field. go april.
april as been an amazing host as we’ve turned her out of all her spaces and been underfoot. she gave me an amazing massage from a professional masseuse friend of hers which i got the other day….it was amazing. grounding. yummy.
but all around we knocked out the gifts this year – its cool to have everyone be thoughtful adults giving presents. its dope to watch someone have the exact reaction you hoped for when you made the purchase, to understand the thought behind the gift. all those years of getting my dad cologne pale in comparison to his reactions now to a new book of golf secrets. watching april with her journey and cash, autumn with bjork and bob dylan.
they tried to get me jamie foxx but he was sold out in south carolina. truly unpredictable…
today we drove down to my grandparents after the presents and found out my grandmother is really really sick, so say a prayer for mary jo. my papa was beside himself taking care of her – she seems to have pneumonia or bronchitis. we spent the day up at the barnhouse where my cousins live, playing old skool nintendo, then horseback riding, playing spades and then doing a puzzle. they are such amazing young people, making me really rethink homeschooling. and having babies. i mean ick…but…
also rethinking cats – there’s a cat in this house where we’re guests and his name is boomer and he’s really growing on me. in general allergies have given me a negative bias on cats but i am into making something purr.
on the trip home my sister was sharing her crisis poo dreams with me – i guess everyone responds to constipation differently. have you ever had a crisis poo dream? poo everywhere and you have to play it off? just curious.
speaking of sister – she’s in a music video! here’s the link: http://www.breakinglaces.com/video/goingaway.mov
in other news, www.pimpmynutcracker.com (courtesy of karynn fish)
and now back to stargate the tv series. me and sci-fi overload sitting in a tree, space travel-ll-i-n-g!