3d, that was actually something of a really good story.
Both cherri and a friend (BEA username
steno) exchanged their "Why Christmas sucks" stories some years back. Both were quite touching, although the years have washed away some of the details.
Maybe cherri might post her "Why Christmas used to suck, but doesn't anymore" version.
And Dearc reminded me a bit of my situation, in a way. Dad passed some 19 years ago, but this is the first Christmas without Mom. My brother, sister and half-sister (and their families) are back in Canada, my own k1ds are in Germany, my aunt and cousins are spread around Calgary and Edmonton for the most part.
Were it not for cherri, I'd be pretty much on my own here in Texas.
We got out to see a small part of town which had really gone all the way with decorating some buildings with all sorts of (mostly white) lights, including the library, piping in Christmas music and synchronizing the two. It was a fairly impressive feat, although some of the choices in music were a bit of a deviation to what I would consider to be "classic Christmas", but still, it was nice to get out and mingle with other people who were also out to see the spectacle.
Sidebar: While out at the spectacle, I was recording cherri with the
Flip Video Mino HD camcorder (about the size/shape of a cell phone, thus very handy to just whip out and record) as we stood by a rather long (horizontally) water fountain. She suddenly glanced a short distance behind me and blurted something out, then rushed past me. I spun around (camera still going) and caught some adults fishing out some yound lad of about 8. She later told me that he'd come running up to the fountain's edge (about shin height), stopped, then seemingly unaware, he tripped over the edge, fell into the chilly water, and remained inverted for what seemed (to her) to be 2-3 seconds. So after he was fished out, they peeled off his soggy jacket and shirt and threw an adult-sized jacket around him. Poor little guy. That's one Christmas he's likely to remember for some time.
And aside from someone we know whose home got robbed and picked clean (including Christmas gifts), it's been a pretty drama-free season this year.
So Merry Christmas one and all.
