"Tis the season--wrapping up 2009

I came to Washington D.C. earlier this week for work, and ended up getting snowed in, flights cancelled, airport closed, so I'm figuring out what to do without being able to go anywhere.  Even the stores were closed down, as was the Metro and the museums.  I have a flight out on Monday, but killing more time, and remembering that I have a blog and should think about a Christmas message. 

While I can't be home to decorate the tree with my family, I am reminded that I am not stuck in Afghanistan like so many others, and I have so much to be grateful for--cup half full (actually, much more than that) instead of half empty.  I have a job and consider myself among the lucky, even though times are tough at work and everyone is looking to cut costs.  K1 has a three-month teaching sub job at a Catholic school while the 5th grade teacher is on maternity leave, and he is wrapping up a class which, hopefully, will then allow him to be completely credentialed and more marketable for a job next year.   K2 just completed a necessary internship at Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce in government affairs, and if he can pass geology (3rd times the charm?), he'll have a degree in political science.  Hallelujah!  I think it is more for me than for him, given I paid for it and I think pulling him through each semester was more painful for me than it was for him.  He wants to give golf a try as a profession, and since college grads can't find work these days, why not.  He has a friend with a house with a spare room in Las Vegas (bought for a song given the dire real estate market), and is thinking of going there to practice, get his game up, and maybe even make a few pennies.  The facilities there are much cheaper and much better than Los Angeles where everything is so expensive.  We shall see.  He spent a week there, playing in a tournament, and found out that LV has cold weather too, as he teed off each day in 30 degree weather. 

Twelve more days, and we begin the year of turning 60.  So, folks, what should we do?  Many of us are tight with funds, but a few days on a beach somewhere sounds good to me, or fall on a lake where the leaves are all changing (as are we).  But no matter what, I remain grateful for the the family that I still have (older ones passing, but new children being born, and a new brother-in-law and his Irish Catholic clan of McGreevys).  My heart is filled with the many wonderful memories and the times I've shared with friends I've had for decades and still visit with now and then.  I love that time and distance easily melts away when we reconnect, and I know that bond we developed so long ago will always fill a room with warmth and laughter. 

So log in, vote for a place, add one that isn't here, and let's find a way to gather and celebrate. I'll bring Julia's cookbook and we'll let the good times roll one more time...