The holidays

Holiday season is fast approaching again- that crazy five or six weeks that starts with Thanksgiving and ends with ringing in the New Year. My wedding anniversary and our trip for it is my personal unofficial kickoff; being a week before Dead Turkey Day it gives me a chance to mentally gear up before the insanity starts. This year, as last year, we're going to the Deck The Halls weekend centered on Seneca Lake, NY (as my last blog entry described) which is, to me, the perfect way to kick off the holidays with none of the stress to come being involved.
More than ever now I appreciate the holidays. I think the biggest part of that is because I can enjoy the holidays again and don't view it with dread for the long work hours, complaining customers and all the associated headaches. Knowing that I can relax and enjoy Thanksgiving without having to worry about getting up at 3AM the day after to start four weeks of retail hell is an incredibly good feeling and one that I will appreciate every year. This is the fourth year that I can enjoy that after 15 of virtual slavery; the first year, 2006, was the best both because it was the first and because I didn't have to be to work until 10:30 on Black Friday- I was grinning ear to ear all day, nothing was able to get me down. Just knowing that my schedule doesn't change aside from for the better (Cox lets us out early for things like Halloween, Christmas Eve and New Years Eve) is a relief, it's fantastic working for a company that actually cares about their employees during the year. Keeping the same schedule lets me plan out and attend things with friends and family and, for the few days I brave going into a store, can do it on a relatively quieter Monday and Tuesday and avoid the weekend insanity.
This holiday season is even more special as it is the last Christmas Day that is just the two of us; next year we will have Brielle to share it with, which will be a whole next level of fun and insanity. My goal is to make Vivian smile on Christmas Day with one gift- if I can do this then I've done something right. Yes, Brielle is with us in spirit (and more in evidence daily by Viv's slowly growing tummy) but in many ways it's still just the two of us and I plan on cherishing and enjoying every moment. Looking at what we have to do over the next few weeks to get ready I can't believe it, but I know we'll enjoy it and get it done. Three trees to decorate (only one live), the inside of the house to take care of, Viv's outside decorations, preparations for our annual family New Year's Day party- it's a whirlwind but a good one, one I'll have to do more work for this year as Viv won't be able to do as much and I don't mind in the least.
I can only imagine what next year will bring with Brielle joining our family. The focus will shift from being about us to being about her, and each year will bring more joy and excitement. I know that next year she'll be barely ten months and won't get as much what's going on but the following years will build and build, with her getting more involved and fueling my excitement. I can't wait to see all of these things through her eyes- the look she'll get on her face when we first light the tree, the excitement of what will appear Christmas morning, the joy of her wishes coming true with gifts, the exhausted nap on Daddy during the day in front of a fire...it's going to be magical.
I am glad I can enjoy the holidays again. Until the last couple years I hadn't really seen how much I was missing out on and how my job was ruining that time of year for me. I am thankful that I have a wonderful wife who helped me to see this far sooner than I would have otherwise and who put up with what I had to go through before I finally woke up and saw the light. Though this is early I hope everyone has a wonderful, magical, safe holiday season and that at least one wish comes true. I doubt this will be my only holiday blog but this at least lets me put things a bit into perspective and makes me see even more how much I appreciate what I have.