The Magic of the Season

I have been wanting to write about the holidays for a while now, but just didn't get a chance.

I wasn't really excited for the holidays this year. For me, the holidays are all about being with family. Ash was working Christmas, and Priya, Vin and Mom were all going to be in India for both Christmas and New Year's.

Let's start with Christmas. Ash was working, and wasn't going to be home until around 8 pm. I prepared myself for a day alone with a good book to read, and some shows on our DVR. Instead, a few days before the 25th, I got a wonderful surprise. Who has a friend that will sit on a bus for 10 hours (5 hours each way) just to make sure you don't spend Christmas alone? I do. I've said it before-- I have some friends who are family. Jenny is one of them, and has been for almost 20 years. (That makes me feel so old.) Lucky for me (and unlucky for Jen), Randy was working Christmas as well. So, she hopped on a bus, got here on Christmas day, and we hung out, made lunch, played Wii, and watched movies until Ash came home. Then, we had dinner, played more Wii, and chatted until our eyes couldn't stay open anymore. The next day, after we went on a short shopping spree, she headed on a bus to go back home. Though it was a short visit, she totally made Christmas for me. Thanks Jen. :-)

That reminds me--I think you're due for another visit...



On a side note, another highlight of Christmas was talking to Vinny over the phone in India. Apparently his rule is that when you're in India, you must speak with an indian accent. Hysterical. Needless to say, Christmas was fantastic.

Then came New Year's. Ash and I had a wonderful time in Montreal for four days, and then headed to Albany so my Dad wouldn't be alone on New Year's Eve. It was a mellow night--dinner out, and falling asleep by the fireplace to New Year's Rockin' Eve. (Ash literally had to wake me up for the countdown.) We all were excited about the upcoming weekend--we had planned a surprise 60th birthday party for my Mom--we'd get her right when she was coming in from the airport.

We kept it small--family coming in from out of town was going to be a big surprise for her, so we kept the guest list in the single digits. The main thing bothering me was that Priya & Vinny were going to miss it. I knew we couldn't throw a big party without them--it just wouldn't feel right. However, they were getting in from India that morning as well, and there was no way they could drive down.

Wrong again. Early that morning Priya called, and both of them had decided to sleep for a few hours, rent a car, and drive to Albany. Just to put this into perspective, their timeline looked something like this:

5:30 AM: Flight lands in Newark, NJ from New Delhi
6:30 AM: Through customs and in a cab home
8:30 AM: Finished laundry, and decided they might drive to Albany
11:30 AM: Finished napping, and packed their bags
12:15 PM: Picked up a rental car, and began the drive
3:15 PM: Arrived in Albany

They spent the night, and by 8:00 AM the next day they left, as they had to drop by Vinny's house for breakfast, and then be back in the city by 12:15 to return the car. Not to mention they both had to work the next day.

If that isn't love for family, I don't know what is.

We held off the cake cutting until they arrived, and my Mom was floored when they walked in. Witness the surprise:



Pure joy was not only on her face, but on all our faces. We had planned on celebrating Christmas that evening, and now everyone was together.



We opened presents, played some games, and then the jet lag caught up.



However, it didn't matter. All that mattered was that the whole family was together--even though it was for less than 24 hours, it was perfect. It's funny how sometimes when you least expect it, everything just works out. I guess that's the magic of the holiday season. That, and the fact that my family rocks.