Was Yours Merry?

Welcome back to reality...aka The Week After Christmas. While some smart folks did that thing with their vacation time that my sister used to do with her candy at Halloween (save it to taunt me with long after mine had been devoured), I did not. That means, back to work today. Back to reality. Back to Cincinnati.

We had such a great Christmas. Time with Steinvic's son on the 23rd and 24th. Time with friends on Christmas Eve. Time together. A lovely time at Mom's on Christmas Day, and more lovely times at Steinvic's Mom's the day after.

My favorite part of the Holidays is spending time with such amazing people...why we don't insist to ourselves that we do it more all year long, I don't know.

For more than a year, I've wanted this particular exercise bike. It's recumbent and while it's not super expensive, it seems that every time I save fifty cents, something big happens to undermine my savings progress. When Steinvic wanted to know what I'd most like for Christmas, I said, "A Walmart* gift card for $25, and a mushy Christmas card." I totally meant it. I wanted him to save for his trip with his son that's coming up in a few months.

Well, he honored my wishes...but in a much bigger way than I expected. I got many, many beautiful, mushy Christmas cards and many $25 gift cards ( also from his Mom - who had my name in the family drawing - and his son, too ) and now I have enough to buy my beloved exercise bike. I plan to go tonight and I can't wait!

There were other highlights...seeing Steinvic's son's face when he opened his Reds tickets (the game is in Phoenix) from his Dad and realized that they had something big to look forward to this spring...that was awesome. Seeing Steinvic putting on his new leather jacket made me happy. I had Steinvic's 8 year old niece in the family drawing and had customized a Chipmunks painting for her and watching her walk all around, carrying that canvas because she didn't want to put it down...that is something I won't forget any time soon. Knowing that J's little ones believe that Eli the Elf really wrote those Christmas letters to them... precious.

All those little moments...all because at this time of year, we go the extra mile. We're a little more clever, a little more committed to surprising those we love, a little more elf-like or Santa-ish than usual. I love it. I live for it! But more importantly, I want that, on some smaller scale, all year long.

I hope you had a fantastic Holiday and that every time you think of it, you smile...

* For those of you who hate Walmart, I'm sorry! I do understand. I honestly don't shop there for my everyday items. If I purchase something from Walmart once a year, that's a max. However, I got a stepper there a few years ago...exact model priced elsewhere for $299 and up...Walmart's price? $80. Same with the recumbent bike I want...at least $50 - $150 more everywhere else I've priced...