1. My dad was on to something with his 'less is more' rant.
I came upon this understanding as I stood outside tearing up all the cardboard boxed that had contained my daughter's gifts. There were a billion of them. after she had opened up her fifth gift, it got kinda boring seeing her open yet another and then another gift. At last count, from uncles, aunts, grandparents, her father, and Santa (me) she ended up with eighteen gifts. Eighteen. The most I ever received when I was a little girl was four, and that was my having been an extremely good girl that year. I guess my dad's right: I got caught up with the whole season of gift buying. Tie that in with a bit of guilt, what with her father not being around, and I ended with a truckload of toys that I will eventually end up throwing out. Evidence being that the threat of throwing away her toys doesn't even phase her. She'll shrug and say "it's okay". What! So I learned that less really is more and that in order to appreciate what it is that you have, you have to have less of it. Next year, I won't make the same mistake again. The limit will be three, I don't care how much of a good girl she is.
2. New Year's resolutions are for the birds.
For the past couple of years, since I understood the concept of resolutions, I've been coming up with a list of hard-thought-out goals. Come February and I won't even remember what was on the list. In reality, if I really wanted to make a change, I should've just come out and done it the day I thought of making a change. If I were to wait until the 'new year' to make a change, then that would just give me license to misbehave all that time until then. Right? Changes can be made everyday, it's just a question of how much do you really want to do it. That's why, for this new year, I didn't come up with any. I'm going to live life the way it should be lived: to the fullest. Sure, the new year constitutes a new beginning for all, I agree, but not when it comes to resolutions. Then again, this is really just my opinion.
3. Family traditions are necessary to make the season meaningful.
To kick off the ride towards Christmas and New Year's, my brother came up with a list of things that had to be done before the actual days came around. The list was filled with trips to the ranch, a trip around Laredo to see all the Christmas lights display, and the annual gathering at Grandma's house. What made me smile, was the effort my brother put into writing out the list. Since we were young, my dad has been the one to put these traditions in motion. He was really the one that thought them out and insisted that every year, we commit to them. Having my brother write them out is just a reflection of just how well my parents brought us up. Well, at least him. So family traditions are fun and they serve a purpose: to make family come first.
4. Holiday marathons are the best.
For someone who hasn't had time to see much television, I really had my fill these past two weeks. I still don't know what the most recent or awesome reality TV show is, nor do I know what's really happening around the world (yes, yes, shame on me) but I did get to catch some really cool movies. There's the marathon of White Christmas and Miracle on 34th Street, Home Alone, Elf, and the Twilight Zone. Never mind the one of A Christmas Story. There's something so wonderful and peaceful about dozing in and out of a restful slumber while one of these movies is playing on the TV. Holiday marathons are the spice of life.
5. I am addicted to conchas from El Mejor Pan.
Believe it or not, I was never one to be interested in pan dulce. Whenever family brought around those paper bags filled with the warm, enticing dough, I never even gave it a second glance. This season though, I don't know the reasoning behind the change was, I fell in love with the conchas. I really don't know what they're made of and I'm not all that interested in finding out exactly what it contains, but I fell hard. I especially favor the pink ones. Even though it's horrible for my waistline, the conchas have become a staple in my diet. Nimodo, asi es la cosa.
All in all, this past holiday season was a good one. They almost always are, with the exception of some, but overall it's a time well spent with family, food, television specials, and excessive gifts. Lessons are always welcomed and when they're accompanied with the holidays, they hold a little bit more meaning. Let's see how the year treats me...looking forward to it.
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