The Christmas Spirit

First snow of the season and Christmas is really beginning to show.

The day started out sluggishly. Like a wet sponge. Like the past few days I woke up and spent about three hours in the basement entertainment center. The thing about waking up and doing nothing is that it often makes you do nothing later. And that's just what it did. When we were called up to make Christmas cookies, I nearly sank my face down in the dough from exhaustion. But I held and we decorated our shortbread cookies with all varieties of Christmas sprinkles.

After baking them and laying them out for display, we again laid around until 5:00 PM and then went to the Saturday mass at St. Mary's Church. I like going to mass but I wish I could've served as the cross bearer. It really helps my experience of the mass when I feel I'm contributing. But instead I sat with my family and listened to the Homily about St. Joseph. I may have wavering faith in the church but it warms my heart to see the community that joins together for the Eucharist.

At any rate, after the mass, we went to Kurt and Amy's. Kurt and Amy are two of my aunts and uncles and they are the only ones that live in Boise. I have noticed that they have some questionable financial tactics, but they are good people and their daughter Ali, is the sweetest little girl alive. She is only about three and like most other three-year-old-girls, she is a princess fanatic, and I ended up playing the princess wishes card game with her. But not before seeing the tree. It seemed humble in comparison to the house, and it really got me thinking about Christmas.

As time goes on, it always seems that holidays mean less and less. Several years ago, I couldn't wait for Christmas. I was excited out of my mind. This year, it just seems to familiar. It just is less of a big deal now. I miss waking up with that irrational excitement of gifts and stockings. Because that joy is gone now. But in place of it I have picked up an appreciation of spending time with my family. I now look forward to seeing Micheal home and Jessica coming over. And I think that this is somewhat better. It may not be the same sort of luster that Christmas used to have, but it is much more meaningful now. I've had my Mount Crumpit Moment (Switch 2 Plan B) and have lost my boyish materialistic thrills of gifts and picked up a much more mature enjoyment in the company of my dear family and friends. It's not Christmas I'm looking forward to, it's the people that Christmas brings about. And that's the true spirit of Christmas.

On another note, hen I came home, I found that I had left my bike in the snow and it made this neat little imprint in the snow seen above. It gives a good impression of how much snow we got.


"It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes, or bags!" - Dr. Seus's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

Finals Weekend

Why is it that whenever I try to spend a weekend studying, something screws it up?

You may doubt me, but I would have spent the whole weekend in front of books if it had not been for other commitments. Why are there sports events on finals weekend anyway? I'm surprised that BK allows that sort of thing; they seem to value grades alot more than athleticism. Of course I could be wrong. But Saturday was not a good day to study for me.

I was able to finish some of my homework Saturday, but only a fraction of my ridiculously large 50-page Spanish worksheet. I would have finished more, but it's amazing how many distractions you can find in your room when there's work to be done. About quarter til 3, I put my gear in the back of the car and headed out to hockey.

We were playing the Canyon County Coyotes. Most of them were eighth graders and girls, but they didn't play half bad. Unsurprisingly, the refs sucked and the other team was hooking and roughing without penalization. They actually turned out to be really aggressive, and at one point in the game, they half knocked one of our players down in front of their net, one of those classic brawls in the crease. At any rate, we tied them, 2-2, and I got a good assist (he really deflected it more than anything else). The team's improving a lot though, and we're probably one of the strongest teams in the league by now.

After that I had to hurry to a Varsity basketball game because I'm in the pep band and I had to play. On my way over I noticed that there was a room filled with food and marshmallow shooters. And understand me, I had had no dinner and I just got back from the hockey game. So what do I do? I casually walk in and try to blend as much as possible while taking a piece of delicious brownie. After eating a few snacks I grabbed another brownie and left. My friend Cameron saw me and laughed. "Look at him! He just jacks food and leaves!" Well he's pretty much right.

At any rate I soon found myself playing keyboard with the band. And I got to say, the cheerleaders get a lot more credit than the pep band does, and that seems unfair when it the band takes more effort. I have to get up an hour earlier for band practice every morning, almost without exception. Can they say the same? We played at breaks and timeouts throughout the game and then moved all our stuff back to the music room. My folks picked me up and I was looking forward to sleeping in.

But that didn't happen.

Instead I did what most catholic boys and teenagers fear: get up early for mass. An 8:00 AM mass. School starts at that time for the love of God! Oh well, it was a good mass. I really enjoy the Homilies the most in a mass, probably because it's the most original part of the mass. This one was a good one, and it was shortly followed up by an Anointing of the Sick. When the priest called for those who wanted the sacrament to stand up, Gary stood up. As he walked up, I looked at Mom to see that there was a tear rolling down her cheek. He sat back down and we all held each other as a family, suspended in that one golden, peaceful moment.

I hardly studied at all this weekend, but I spent some good time with my family. I'm content.


"Love...is the strangest thing..." - James and the Giant Peach