I Survived Christmas...and the Apocalypse

Mood:  hopeful, excited

Well readers, I survived Christmas.  And if you're reading this you have also come out alive.  To be honest this year was my best Christmas ever.  Jeff and Malcolm and I were all supposed to make the trek to Pennsylvania to be with my family for Christmas but we stayed in Iowa instead.  Jeff got a new job (YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY) in November and we didn't feel comfortable requesting vacation time that quickly.

So another Christmas in Iowa for me.  It was spectacular though.  First, even though I miss my family like crazy, I know my parents will agree that not having to travel during the holidays is truly a blessing in itself.  Not having to haul Malcolm and his gazillion toys to the east coast and then haul a gazillion and 10 toys back home was quite a relief.  Secondly, the amount of time it takes to travel seriously cuts into actually celebrating the holidays.  If Jeff and Malcolm and I drive we are looking at 2 days to PA and 2 days back to IA.  If we fly then it's 2 days of being at airports and driving.  Not a bad deal, but still 2 days that we don't get to spend with friends or family or enjoying the holidays. 

Lastly, this is Jeff and I's first Christmas with Malcolm as a married couple.  Essentially it was our first Christmas as a family, as last year we celebrated a week later.  Sure it's just a day to Malcolm who isn't 4 yet...but it does hold weight for me.  

So once the end of the world came and went I started preparing for Christmas 2012...Lilland style.  I've never made sugar cookies from scratch before but since Jeff can't have any dairy I had to figure it out.  Not so hard...and about 6 dozen cookies later I think I did pretty well.  We wrapped gifts, wrote cards, and decided which cookies to leave out for Santa.  Jeff and I sat together on Christmas Eve after family members departed for the evening and did nothing.  It was perfect.

I woke up before Malcolm or Jeff on Christmas, and the kind of excitement I remember feeling as a kid was present.  The pit of your stomach excitement where you can't wait to get started with the day.  Trust me, I like to kill as much time in bed under warm covers as possible in the morning, but I couldn't wait to hop out of bed and enjoy the morning.  We got Malcolm up and did just that.

The joy of watching a child on Christmas morning is so unlike anything that I have ever experienced.  It was the first time in my whole life (I'm sad to admit this) that I truly didn't care at all if there was a single present for me.  All I wanted was to watch Malcolm smile and fist pump with joy and continue to say "YESSSSSSSSS" forever.  Last year he was still young enough that unwrapping wasn't that fun for him.  This year?  Oh, he loves it.  We opened presents, played with presents, and my mother in law made fresh cinnamon rolls.  The only thing that could have made it more perfect would have been to have my family sitting in the same room.  Alas, life isn't perfect.

Now that I've survived Christmas I'm finding myself with a renewed joy.  With a happier spirit.  I'm still working on becoming who I want to be...but I have a better idea.  I want to be a better person, for Malcolm.  And I think I have a few ideas as to how to better myself.  

I pray you all came through the holidays with a spirit of laughter and love.  And probably some awesome presents.  And if this year sucked, next year will be better!  Plus, you survived the end of the world with flying colors so not everything is terrible!