happy christmas!

War isn’t over yet – people just aren’t taking John Lennon to heart.

But it’s Christmas. Mom is visiting us at sprite’s folks’ place in Connecticut, and it’s stressful. I’m pleased as can be that she came out, but it’s not been a visit without some bumps. Such is the reality of family life, I suppose, but it’s not the happy, go-lucky holiday of my youth.

That said, the day has been okay, as has the holiday weekend. I was able to go skiing on Friday (workout log forthcoming on that), and the gifts I gave went over quite well. The calendar I made for Mom (the “big-ass project”) went over very, very well, and I’m really happy that she has some photos to brighten her day.

She’s been hounding us to come out to Utah sometime soon, which is something we’d like to do, save for the cost of flying out there and the academic schedule. I really believe that she wants us to move out west, but that’s not in the cards for the foreseeable future. There’s a lot of baggage on both ends, and it’s something that will be dealt with sometime when the extended family isn’t due for dinner in less than an hour and the dynamic needs to be smooth. C’est la vie….

Mom is in town until tomorrow afternoon. I wish she could stay a little longer and enjoy herself, but she’s out-of-place (her own assessment) being so far away from Utah, and the longer she stays, the more stress develops. So we’ll plan a trip out west for sometime during the winter, and send her home knowing that she’s welcome here (even though she doesn’t feel that way right now – 20/20 hindsight will prove that she’s a part of the family, I’m sure).

So happy (or merry) Christmas to all – and a happy Hanukkah and a kick-ass Kwanzaa to all the rest!