christmas time & the riverwalk

so here's a first: i was getting my haircut and the lady asks me, so do you have kids? no ma'am i most certainly do not. ok, so maybe its not the first time people have wondered that, i distinctly remember feeling rather awkward sometimes while caring for my younger siblings at the mall or such, but at any rate its the first time someone has directly asked me that. i did feel better after it became clear to me that the haircut lady had simply asked the question so as to transition into a rant about commercialized Christmas and how no one bakes or makes homemade presents anymore like they did (and no lie she actually sad this) "back in the day."

sometimes i like to torture people with thoughtful questions. one i enjoy pulling out of my arsenal is what is the best christmas gift you've ever received? but perhaps my favorite of all is what's the best christmas gift you've ever given?

i've enjoyed many wonderful christmases at our hizzouse. and despite the fact that matt and i enjoy kidding our parents about asking for basketball shoes for christmas a couple times, we got some pretty dang good presents....

there was the year matt and i both got new bikes. oh yeah. back in the days before one drives, one's bike is of upmost importance. and we got cool ones. in fact, i took mine to college with me. at any rate my dad hid them in the guest bathroom. after we'd opened up all the other presents, he somehow lured us into going in there (probably he told us we'd better clean it before guests arrived or something) and we were elated to find new bikes.

there was also the year we got a basketball goal. if my memory serves correctly my dad set it up in the shop in the backyard. thats right folks, we had an indoor basketball court...with a tin roof. i remember playing out there in the rain, it was so deafening. but, and forgive me matt for saying this, but matt and i would have big ol tournaments. i forget exactly how we played, but we'd represent certain college teams, and probably have some sort of free throw shooting contest to determine who moved on in the brackets. good times.

one year we got a pingpong table. there was much ruckus going on early in the morning as it was being assembled. my favorite part of that christmas was watching my grandmother and grandfather duel in a ping pong game. that ping pong table provided many hours of entertainment.

there was also the year i got my guitar. my brother and ER spent some time picking out just the one they knew i would love. my family hid it in the guitar case of the guitar i was borrowing at the time, back in my room. j-jo got her keyboard that year too.

that same year i believe it was, my brother bought me a ring from james avery that he knew i wanted, but had cut out of my christmas list because i really wanted the guitar. it totally surprised me and i think its been one of the best christmas gifts i've ever gotten.

tonight i participated in the commercialization of christmas. ross and i went down to the famed riverwalk, and took one of those little boat tours to check out all the christmas lights. it was pretty cool and we also had some good bbq at the county line. thats all for now, check in next time for a glimpse into christmas traditions of my past and things i'm doing this yr, my first christmas out on my own.

ross and me at the riverwalk...