Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry Christmas to You and Your Favorite People!

Hello Sparlke, Sparkle devotees! (are there any of you left?) It's time for the traditionally cliche Christmas blog post! But that's ok. Certainly I can step away from my skeptical life outlook for this most sacred of holidays. At least for the duration of this post.

Today something very strange happened. I woke up, prompted by no alarm, at 8 am. If you know me at all, you know that I am perpetually sleepy. Like a sleep 12 hours and I'm ready for a nap type of gal. This is to say I literally can't remember the last time I willingly got out of bed before 11 on a Saturday. But today I woke up at 8. And I knew my parents were going to walk "up town" (ah, small town life) to get coffee, so I thought I'd be ambitious and join them. Along with us came my grandpa and my aunt and uncle. So we strolled through the cold winter sun to the local coffee shop and had our morning caffeine fix together. And it was wonderful.

I don't even regret missing out on my usual 3 extra hours of sleep. Now that I live 10 hours away from my parents, the mornings that I can spend leisurely chatting with them are so limited. I'm far past the teenage days where hanging out with my family was so Uncool. Now I actually like my parents, believe it or not. And as I sat back and listened to my family laughing and sharing stories at our morning get together, I felt pretty darn lucky.

I think I have the best family in the world. Do I expect you to think I have the best family in the world? Heck no. I hope you think YOU have the best family in the world. Because when we lose our jobs, when we break up with our significant others, when we move to a new town and know no one, our families are the constant in our lives. Mine will always be quirky and hilarious, but rooted in faith and intensely connected to each other. I would have them no other way. (Even when they start to drive me crazy.)

I hope that you get to spend time with your family this Christmas, whether it's the family you were born into or the family you've discovered along the way. And I hope you believe you're with the best people in the world.

Sparlke, Sparkle! Merry Christmas, all!