Holiday wrap-up

The holidays came and went more quickly than I ever remember them doing. It's cliche to say that I had a lot to do and was running around like a mad person -- but I was. Here are a few of the things that kept me occupied.

We did 4 separate Christmases this year. Yes, four. I mean, who does that? More than ever, I am hell-bent on reconciling the family Christmas dispute that continues between some members of L's and my family. Either that, or I will go on a solo island retreat while everyone else "celebrates" four Christmases in one week. Actually, that's sounding better by the minute.

L and I didn't get presents for each other again this year. We like the tradition we started last year of shopping for people who really need it. It can be a major project (read: going to three different toy stores looking for the exact toy the 3-year-old boy asked for), but I much prefer it to exchanging boring old stuff between us.

One thing of note about shopping for those less fortunate: Each person we shopped for asked for socks. They could ask for anything in the world, and they wanted socks. I now think of them every time I put socks on my feet.

Speaking of asking for anything in the world, the girls' requests for Santa were kind of head-scratchers, but I have to give them points for practicality. Jellybean asked for a purple suitcase. Peanut asked for a "dark orange cup" and a candy cane. All the toys the elves make all year long, and it came down to a suitcase and a cup. Santa did a great job choosing which suitcase and which cup to give them -- and they're both thrilled.

Putting that all behind me (well, except the sock thing, and maybe the family Christmas thing...), I'm ready for 2010. Whatever it has in store, bring it on!

Get on your bikes and ride

We have re-discovered biking this summer, and have had some of our best family time when we've been on two wheels. The bikes have both literally and figuratively taken us off the beaten path, and we've had a lot of fun.

It all started when we bought new bikes for ourselves in May. It was something we had been talking about for a couple years, but just never got around to doing. We live in a very bike-friendly place, complete with bike lanes on many of the main streets, so it was such an easy thing to break into.
We received a retro hand-me-down Burley from some friends that has been sitting in the basement awaiting some action. And action it has gotten -- I'd love to know how many miles we've logged on that thing. The girls love riding in it, and thankfully, L doesn't mind pulling it. The two of them combined are close to 80 lbs., so it would be a struggle for me to pull them, especially uphill. L must be freakishly strong, because we've had several steep inclines that I'm barely dragging my own butt, and I look over at L and he's cruising right on up with an extra 80 lbs. behind him!
The evening bike ride to a park or activity has become one of our favorite pasttimes. Eat dinner, do the dishes, load everyone up, and hit the road. One evening, we went to the neighborhood ice cream place, and an older couple were oohing and ahhing over the girls in the Burley. The man said, "It's so nice to see something that a man HAS to do [pulling the Burley] -- there aren't many of those things left." I couldn't decide whether to laugh or resent him. I did a little of both.

During our time at the beach, we did several rides on a Rails to Trails bike path. Hello, stimulus money? That would be the perfect project in a slow economy: clean up nasty old unused railroad tracks and give us more places to move our ever-increasing girth (for free!). Many states have Rails to Trails, and you often end up seeing things you can't or won't see from the road.

I don't know if we'll be able to use the Burley for both kids next year. Jellybean crowds Peanut quite a bit, and her legs may be too long next year. *sniff* Just like everything else with little kids, I'll enjoy it while I can.

A different kind of holiday season

We have been as busy as ever since Thanksgiving. This Christmas season is different than previous years for several reasons, and I feel like sharing them.

First of all, the kids are getting old enough to really understand all the Christmas stuff. Peanut is still a bit young, but she knows who Santa is, loves to "sing" Jingle Bells and has had fun looking at Christmas lights. Jellybean is completely into it this year; in fact, L and I really have to mind our p's and q's about Santa -- we have to keep our story completely straight. That will present some challenges when we're out of town for Christmas, but we'll cross that bridge.

Also this year, now that Jellybean is in preschool, we are being engulfed in all the holiday goings-on, which is fun. In a couple weeks, she will participate in the Christmas program, in which the preschoolers perform songs for all of us. She has been singing and singing around the house -- "Away in a Manger" is her favorite -- and has loved singing Christmas carols every day she's at preschool. I'm interested to see how her penchant for performing at home might transform once she's in front of a crowd. She is much less shy and reserved than she used to be, but as we all know, stage fright is a different animal entirely.

The other thing that is different for this year is the Christmas between L and me. We have seen too many people beset by difficult circumstances in this economy, Michigan being one of the biggest stages, unfortunately. There is nothing much I really need -- and L neither -- so we have decided to allocate our Christmas budget to sponsor some kids. The shopping and wrapping efforts have been intense (I'm not as efficient shopping for boys!), but those are nothing compared to the struggles these kids and their parents are facing. The idea that a child doesn't have warm enough clothes for the Michigan winter breaks my heart and my spirit more than I can express.

I was thoroughly touched today when Jellybean was in her own little world pretending and I realized she was pretending to be helping people. She has more comprehension of the Christmas spirit than she knows.