Merry Christmas/Happy Chanukah/Happy Kwanza/Blessed Solstice/Happy New Year!!!!!!!

I think that's all of them.  If I missed any, I do apologize.  (See Fox News, THIS is why people say "Happy Holidays!"  Because the alternative just takes too darn long! NOT because of some "war on Christmas!"  And if there IS a war, Christmas is definitely winning.  So, Yay!)

OK, I'm not trying to get all political again.  I just want to wish EVERYONE a joyous holiday season, no matter which (if any) you celebrate!

Once again, the year has flown by.  It seems like we were just gearing up for the Olympics, and here we are awaiting 2011.
January 2nd will be Hubby's and my 10th wedding anniversary (?!?!?!?!), and we will have been together for 16 years.  Yeah, we dragged our feet to the altar.  We wanted to BE married, but we didn't want to GET married.  Especially after going to/participating in about a thousand weddings for family/friends.  I think maybe because we were poor, but also because we spent most of our lives on stage already; we didn't feel the need for the drama of a big, formal wedding.   (Plus, I'd had the chance to wear some GORGEOUS wedding gowns in a couple of plays, so that desire was satisfied.)  So when we DID tie the knot, it was small, informal, and with family and close friends only.  I wore a dress I'd gotten at Marshall's a couple years earlier, and Hubby wore his Barong (A Filipino mens' dress shirt).  We gathered with a JP in my in-laws' living room, with the dogs just outside.  Afterwards we went to dinner, then came home and played "House of the Dead" on Playstation.  Our honeymoon was in Hawaii with all my in-laws: my S-I-L graduated from college that month, and we all went to her ceremony. My favorite moment was when we were having a barbecue and a tiny little baby gekko crawled up my arm and stared at me. The locals told me it was good luck! (Plus, he was REALLY cute, and I had a crowd of kids gathered around me to see him.)  We named him Gekki and put him back in his tree. And it was perfect, for us.

These past 10 years have flown by so quickly, and so much has changed.  We're now parents, homeowners, and have (almost) entirely new careers in a different city.  We're no longer 30-somethings, but 40-somethings.  2 of the dogs who were barking at our wedding have now gone on to the great doggie park in the sky, and the 3rd is a lot slower and grayer than she was then (and also a bit arthritic, but still playful and incredibly sweet). Our circle of friends is much smaller, but also much more precious. Sure, we keep in touch with the others through Facebook and such, but we really know who the true ones are.
My dad was at my wedding.  Of course, he's no longer with us, at least physically.  But I feel his presence constantly, and I know he's watching out for my kids.  I like to think of him sitting there with all the various family pets that have also passed on surrounding him, jostling for position in his lap (including our Malamute who, despite his size, never really got over being a puppy).

Finally, I know I am not quite the same person I was a decade ago.  Thank G-d!!!!!!!  I feel as if I'm coming into my own, discovering what works for me and my family and doing away with the rest.  Spending less time in my head and more in my body and my heart.  Knowing that sometimes ya just gotta say "The heck with it" and move on! It's funny; as I get older and society begins to ignore and even reject me, I am finally finding mySELF.  And it is so freeing!!!!!!

How about you?  What do you think about as one year ends a new one begins?  Do you make resolutions?  Do you ring in the new year with friends and family, or quietly with those closest to you?  Or, like me, do you TRY to stay awake, give up, and wish everyone a happy new year at 9 PM because it's midnight on the east coast, after all, and go to bed?

Here's to a wonderful, joyous holiday season, and a fantastic New Year!
Cheers!!!!!