Christmas twice, and I am still Standing

Tis the season where families gather, share in each others joys of a year coming to the end and finding graditude in what we have. Tell stories of adventures and mishaps, everything from Dad(aka Uncle Herb) slipping on a piece of paper on a roof and dislocating his shoulder, me shooting myself in the thigh with my nail gun in february and pulling the nail out with pliers and going back to work, tales from my 3 year anniversary in AA, Cassie growing so fast and learning a new game almost every week, to even tales told by Melissa about Ireland, Roberts adventures in a mixed martial arts tournament, and tales of Mom raising us kids. Lori on Christmas Eve prepared a gorgeous dinner at her new home in Saddlebrook. Her and Chris were the perfect hosts. They went the whole nine yards to make everyone comfortable and welcomed. Danielle and I played in the back yard with Cassie while dinner was being finalized. The extra special treat was a deep fried Turkey, it was really good. A big treat for everyone was watching dad eat with his shoulder still being sour. Danielle did more than hold her own this year at the table by throwing around some zingers people set themselves up for (you know who you are..lol). The whole time spent at Lori's was such a good time. Chris had to go in to work, but stopped in a few times when in the area as we opened gifts! Then on Christmas day, we went to Mom and Dads for another great dinner that Melissa cooked. It was a 10 pound prime rib, and cooked perfectly. The evening was a great mix of eating and playing. Melissa, Robert and myself showed Cassie how to dance like a Neuhaus, not well but enjoyable. The big kick for me this christmas was watching everyone dote over Cassie and noticing that the transition of who Santa Claus is is complete. When I was a child, Santa was a big fat guy with a white beard who rode around in a sled, to when I was a little older seeing that it was my parents, to when I was a young adult, santa was only symbol of the holiday spirit of giving and receiving, To this year, Christmas morning Santa Clause was staring back at me in the mirror and we both had a great big smile. I hope everyone had a great Christmas, we sure did! And our love goes out to everyone. Have a safe new year