Merry Christmas!

I know I already gave this to you, but I figure it is just as good posted here.  I love you – Merry Christmas Sweetie.

December 25, 2009 This makes 22 Christmases together!

Merry Christmas my love. I can’t believe we have spent 22 Christmases together. Seems like we have come a long way since exchanging what seemed like “mirror” gifts to one another in 1988. We have gone from a dating couple to newlyweds, to new parents, to a small family and now finally to a bigger family. So much change over 22 years.

Since we are seeing a “Christmas Carol” I thought it would be nice to show what the 3 ghosts would have shown us. We have Christmas pasts a plenty, a pretty great Christmas present and Christmas futures galore to come.

Christmas Pasts

Some of our best memories are certainly of the kids. We found out we were pregnant with Kendall during Christmas. Of all of the presents we could every want our angel baby tops them all. We had so many “perfect” mornings for the girls. Presents seemed to be everywhere. We spent as much time blocking off rooms so they couldn’t peak, grabbing Megan’s stocking (noisy to this day!) so it wouldn’t wake them up and “putting together” things for them to see in the morning (do you remember the bicycle handlebars that were actually wrong for months after Christmas?).

Every Christmas morning seemed magical for them. Often even a bit overloaded. Paper was always strewn about the floor. “Thank you Santa’s” being yelled at the top of their lungs. Little did they know who Santa really was all those years? That they believed for so long added to the magic. The video that Megan added to Kendall’s graduation present pretty much says it all. Kendall reading her letter from Santa and Megan tearing into presents in such a cute “Megan” way.

You also made sure that the whole season was special. A routine for decorating the tree (made better when we moved to WI and started chopping our own). The advent calendars with candy to suit them both. Decorations with holiday memories placed all over the house. Only a real elf could have kept up the “Santa hand writing” for so long and so consistently.

You have created such terrific holiday traditions for the whole family. Many are just us, some from your childhood and some just plain traditional.

Christmas Present

This year’s Christmas may be the biggest of them all! I really like that we
have added a Christmas “outing” to the mix. The ballet last year and the
play this year. It is a nice family event for all of us to enjoy and kicks off the 3 days of the holiday perfectly.

This year we will have added a new family member to the mix. Kendall was so excited. By now Megan has her big gift, I’ll bet she is shocked although we may never see her again (Megan cave calling).

Having Christmas be just the four of us is actually very nice. Keeping the focus on our family and not sharing our “special time” with anyone else is the best way to spend the holidays.

As this is the “present” portion let me officially tell you Merry Christmas for 2009. You outdid yourself this year.

Christmas Future

This is where it is really going to get good. I was telling someone about your plans to have the girls be “required” to spend Christmas with us after they have their own families. Everyone I have told agreed that it causes some real family stress. However, I have told EVERY ONE of them that it won’t be an issue for us. 22 years of perfect Christmases have ensured that they wouldn’t want to be anywhere else at this very special holiday.

I figure it will go something like this. Both girls sleep in their own rooms (with husbands and kids) on Christmas Eve. We all wake up in the morning to the shrieks of grandkids opening the tons of presents Santa left them. They’ll know that Santa makes his best visits to Grandma’s house! You’ll have created spreadsheets for every grandchild, rows of gifts well over 50 by that time! Dinner remains perfect and we may actually get to the point where we need multiple 23-25 lb turkeys.

You and I will sit and watch our ever growing family enjoy your favorite holiday. For a few days ever year you get to be a young kid again. It will go on until there are great grandkids and so on and so on.

So there you have it sweetie, your Christmas legacy has been built. You have created decades upon decades of Christmas magic. A thought just occurred to me. Maybe there really is a “Santa Claus”. I think it’s you.

You’re the world to me. I love you more than anything in the world.

Merry Christmas!

Good morning sweetie

Well I hope your night went well.  Just remember only 1 more night to go before we are together for the rest of the year.

This is likely the last entry of the year before the annual Christmas letter entry.  The year seemed to go by so fast didn’t it?  Christmas is now in the single digits away!  I know you have so much to do and it is causing you stress, but the the reward is always worth it for you.

Today I find my self missing you quite a bit.  Last night when we went to bed I had one of those moments when I knew that what we had was perfect. You curled up next to me so you could be warm.  There you were lying next to me in your nightgown, smelling perfectly feeling warm, content and perfect.  It was as though you were created to be in that spot with me.  A perfect fit. I whispered in your ear “I Love you” and you told smiled and told me you loved me too.  Then you fell asleep.  It was one of the best nights sleep I have had in a really long time.

When we woke up we were still in almost the same position.  It made for a pretty great morning too.  Thus when I tried to fall asleep tonight without you things just weren’t right.  So if you didn’t know, I was missing you even more all night.

After 20+ years it amazes me that we find so many of those little perfect moments.  so many tiny little things that remind us how lucky we are to have each other.  So many thing that remind us how in love we are.

When the older daughters friend came to the house this weekend and you told me about her father situation it made me think.  I thought I wonder did she notice we hold hands in the car?  Even on a short trip to get something to eat.  Did she notice that we stop at various points throughout the house and hug/kiss?  even though there isn’t a “required moment” for doing so?  I know at one point she turned her head and heard me tell you that you looked “really good” in your jeans.  She smiled after i said it.  Maybe it was less because I was ogle-ing you and more because she just thought it was nice that we did so for each other.

I bet our kids take for granted that we still have such a great and close relationship with each other after all this time.  For a few days, I hope a stranger thought it was nice.  Ironically, I only thought of this after she left.  That makes those little nice things we do so much more natural.  Its good to be in love isn’t it?

You’re the world to me.  I love you more than anything in the world.

The Holiday Season

The next two weeks are going to be long ones.  I guess they always are at this time of the year.  However, once they are done it becomes the official “old fashioned fun family Christmas” time.

It sure is your time of the year.  Right from the start of October (you know you will probably hit September next year) through the week after Christmas.  It is like your own “quarter” of the year.  You start the thinking in October and this year even some of the buying.  You get decoration round one out of the way with the Halloween decorations, then fall decorations, some more shopping, turkey day is perfect, some more shopping, Christmas decorating, shopping, baking, a Christmas concert, a Christmas event (this year a Christmas Carol), presents galore!, more turkey, a bevy of family calls (ok one call with 4 people to talk to), the annual ski trip and finally New years celebration (this year at our house).  Whew what a season.  So much to do and so precious little time.  But you always pull it off.

I wonder to myself where this massive focus on this holiday originated.  I know you have told me of the summer time Jack Jones concerts in the basement, but what really drives your desire to make this holiday so perfect?  I guess the easy answer is the girls.  Making sure they have the perfect experience, but at this point I think they are really all about the presents.  The presents are really just a small part of the whole experience you have given us over the years.  The rest of the holiday is equally as big to you.  Where did it all come from?  What makes you so focused on this time of the year.

I racked my brains on this and really only came to one conclusion.  This is how you wanted your family to be at the holidays.  Just like the many holiday movies you love so much.  It isn’t because it mirrors your childhood memories, but because you are creating our families memories.  The things our kids will remember forever.  The things that you and I will look back on in 40 years about Christmas past.

I guess all we can say is “Thank you”.  I may call it “your season”, but I know you do it for us.

You’re the world to me.  I love you more than anything in the world.

Poets write Poetry

husbands do not….

However sometimes we try.

She smiles
And it lights up my world
She laughs
And I become more happy with every tone
She speaks
And every word is music to my ears

And with her my world gets better all every day

She asks
And the answers bring me joy
She sees
And the vision paints a picture
She hears
And the sounds are a symphony in my head

And with her my world gets better all every day

I take
Because everything she gives makes me loved
I feel
Because her presence give me life
I love
Because she makes me feel loved

And with her my world gets better all every day

You’re the world to me.  I love you more than anything in the world.

Snow is for you

I am very sorry I didn’t have a “real” update this morning.  The disappointment in your voice made me feel really bad.  It won’t happen again as I remain flattered that you look for them after so long.

So I ran down to the meeting and it turned out to be breakfast.  I grabbed some coffee and came back here real quick to post the one thing I thought today.

It snowed here last night.  Probably 2-3 inches or so.  I can’t look at snow without thinking of you.  Snow is for you.  I love how excited you get about it and how it makes you smile.  For someone who soooo loves to sit on the beach, I think you like snow even more.

So all day as I look out the window and see the snow, I will be thinking of you.  Of course, I am always thinking of you anyway, but today it will be “pretty, happy, snow smile” you.

I need to get back to the group now.

You’re the world to me.  I love you more than anything in the world.