Beach Me

clouds can't stop us.

Merry Christmas

 christmas with my family has always been exactly, completely, entirely...  

this:

and even though my parents traded snow for surf and moved...

here:

and instead of having aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, priests (yes, priests) and friends over for dinner we started passing out gift baskets at my dad's hospital in... 

these:

and candlelit midnight mass on christmas eve has become us one by one trickling into the living room to watch my crosspoint family on...

this:

and us "kids" no longer wait at the top of the steps for our parents to get the coffee and camera ready before we get to see what santa brought us like...

this:

not all that much has changed like...

this:

merry this and happy that to everyone and everything.

'tis the season.

ps - i got the most bestest biggest outstandingest terrific amazingest supercalifragilisticexpialidocious gift ever this year.  more on that as soon as i can share details...

Christmas Courage

i come from a family where funny is king.  sarcasm is our first language.  the sole purpose of gift giving among us is for the giver to purchase something that the recipient will be mortified to return.  this clan will go to great lengths for a laugh.  

but this?  this took some special kind of christmas courage.  my 21 year old brother flew from wisconsin to texas, that's one thousand one hundred and eighty miles... in this:

i have never been more proud of him.