My Home for the Holidays Survey

1. Who do you want to go home to visit? or Who do you want to come home to visit you? Why?

I would very much love it if my mother, sister, and step-father could come and visit me. This will be the very first time that I won't be home for Christmas. Jake and I had to take all our time off earlier this year to go back home to get married, so we've got no time left for Christmas. Jake's parents are coming down to stay in our new house with us, but it's going to feel very empty without my own family. I've never been away for Christmas. The holidays have always been especially important to my family because it's the one time we all got together and spent time with each other and had a chance to relax.

I'd also really like for them to be able to come for my grandparents' sake. They lost their oldest daughter back in March to Cancer and it's very hard for them to be down here without any family. Jake and I will be there for Christmas, but they see us all the time and it just isn't the same. Mommy and Sweet Pea stayed with them for three months and now they're starting to really feel how empty their house is without an annoying, screaming two year old. ;)

2. What is your relationship with this person? How long have you known them?

Well, my relationship with this person is, as I said, she's my mother. I have known her for much longer than I care to admit sometimes. Let's see...it's been 19 years plus that 9 months and three days because I refused to come out when I was supposed to.

As for my step-father, I've known him for probably 5 years now maybe. I can't say for sure. It's been longer than I wanted for him, too, LOL. But that's usually how it goes for family, isn't it?

3. When was the last time you spent the holidays with this person?

The last time I spent the holidays with them was last year at Christmas. Jake and I saved our vacation to take at Christmas so we'd be able to go home. It's one of the biggest holidays for our families. Even then, we were afraid Sweet Pea wouldn't recognize us because we hadn't seen her since she was really small, but she did indeed remember us, which was thrilling.

4. What is your most meaningful holiday memory with this person?

How do I choose just one? There are so many of them! I think one of the greatest memories was just a couple of years ago when the Nintendo Wii first came out. It was such a big sensation and I wanted one really bad, but they were super hard to get. You had to be at the store at just the right time and wait in line just to get one. Not to mention that at that point our money was fairly tight and Wiis were exceptionally expensive.

Mommy told me that she would try to get a Wii, but she didn't make any promises. So when Christmas came, I opened all my presents and there was no Wii. She wrapped a picture of a Wii box and told me it would be an IOU because she just couldn't get it. THey were all out by the time she got there.

Then she asked me to get her bathrobe and there under her robe was a WII!! I was so very excited because I hadn't really expected to get it at all. I had it opened, set up, and was playing it in a matter of half an hour with all of us laughing and goofing around with it. As uncoordinated as we all are, it was pretty funny watching us try to learn how to play.

5. How do you find meaning in the holidays?

The greatest meaning I ever got out of the holidays is my family.

When I was little, we all would gather at my grandparents' and my grandmother would cook us a really large meal. Always venison and ham for the main course, the two tastiest meats God ever invented. ^_^

Once my grandparents moved out of state and my parents were broken up and my mother was dating my step-father, Christmas changed a little. It was just a small event with my mother, step-father, and eventually Sweet Pea. But that's all I ever needed.

Christmas is such a special time and everyone's always in good spirits, regardless of what's going on in their lives. It's the time when we can feel the most like a family, despite any falling outs or arguments that dotted the rest of the year. At that point, it doesn't matter. Grudges won't start again until after the season and that only happens once a year. I don't want to miss that. It's the best of humanity, even in the midst of watching how awful humanity can be sometimes.

I think the real meaning of Christmas is best defined in the eyes of children. Remember what it was like to wake up and sneak out of your room to find that Santa had been there? The thrill of opening presents, even when you're too young to really understand what they are. The innocence and magic that Christmas has. It's the only time of year that adults can act like children and it's ok, and I think we should have more of that all year round because I see how Sweet Pea is and I know that that's what the holidays are really about. :)