A Very Different Christmas

I, like many other people across the world, grew up spending Christmas Eve and Christmas with my family. In fact, every Christmas Eve had been spent at my parents' house with my mom and dad and siblings ... until that one Christmas.

One of my older brothers, the King of Komps, moved to Australia after getting his teaching degree. My parents made a couple of trips to see him, including one that fell in December -- including Christmas! They were 10,000 miles away and it didn't dawn on me until late in December that I would not have the Christmas I had always known.

I was home from college for the holidays that year, and my younger brother was still living at home. We suddenly realized that we had no plans for Christmas Eve. We decided to go out to a local restaurant for dinner and opted for a "traditional" Christmas dinner. I had fried catfish and my brother had spaghetti!

We went home that night, opened some presents, then sat wondering what to do. The answer: we cranked up the stereo and brought out some beer and just sat around talking. The phone started ringing and one friend after another, anxious to get out of their house and family celebration, accepted our invitation to come over, listen to some tunes and hang out. Before you know it, we had this excellent impromptu party with many of our best friends. It was not exactly the traditional way to spend Christmas Eve, but it certainly did the trick that night!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to my readers and anyone else who happens upon this blog this holiday season. I feel blessed to have a wonderful family, a great job, and a satisfying life. I am thankful for the many friends I have made via online poker, my trips to Las Vegas, blogging, and other online outlets.

Enjoy the season!