My Christmas/Holiday Miracle....

This year has got to be one of the best Christmas's that i've had in a long time. To be perfectly honest, since I was about 16, i've been a little disappointed in Christmas. The wonder and spark of it all died when I reached teen-hood, since clearly that is when I started maturing far beyond my years...or atleast THOUGHT I had matured.

I attribute my Christmas downer attitude honestly, to working in retail. Those of you who have worked in retail know exactly what i'm talking about. Christmas tends to bring out the nastiness in alot of people. And they take it out on the lowly minimum wage paid store associate who 99.9% of the time has nothing to do with what you, the consumer, are upset about. For instance, it is NEVER the fault of a store worker that the store is out of the size you want. No, they did not personally purchase each and every red Christmas sweater in size small. They just didn't do it, so calm down. Also, much to the shock of most people, the store associates did NOT get together with their fellow workers and pen some absurd return policy JUST to make you mad. We honestly would let you return anything, any time of year (within reason) if it were truly up to us. Honest.

So after 8 years of Christmas seasons in retail (well, actually we weren't allowed to call it Christmas season, it was normally renamed something else, politically correct and cheesy,my personal favorite "The Season for Sparkle Shopping"---what??)--I developed an almost foreboding attitude about Christmas time. I hated shopping in the mall this time of year, because it reminded me of working in retail, which reminded me of nasty people (see above paragraph!)

But this year was different! For one thing, I did most of my shopping online, or at parties (PartyLite, Jewels by Jen....Godsends!) I also was very deliberate in my selection of gifts that I gave to people. I tried REALLY hard to think of things that the recipient would really love, or had even mentioned that they wanted. I had a really great time thinking of the perfect gift for everyone on my list, which made me enjoy shopping even more!

The ultimate climax of my Christmas this year, however was Christmas Day. I was really not feeling well, with an awful migraine, but I loved seeing each of my siblings and parents enjoy the gifts I had picked out especially for them...I was in my room, laying down because my head was pounding, and I heard my little brother Jason screaming excitedly "Heather and Merrin are here!" Heather and Merrin are my two sisters, the one right above me, and the one right below me-both of which have not been here on Christmas the past few years. It had been six years since our entire family was under our home roof, in fact! It was absolutely wonderful to be with everyone....