I love the holidays, mostly because my mother and father made them so much fun when I was little. (After the divorce it got very complicated but we persevered.) (It is a total understatement to say that it "got very complicated" but I'm sure you get the idea.) I come from people who do the outside lights and the tree and the stockings and lots of presents and stay up all night on Christmas Eve gushing about what they received (we have always been "eve people") and then getting up Christmas morning and starting with the gushing all over again.

We love the holidays and we aren't the slightest bit ashamed.

I have a lot of things to be grateful for this year but mostly, as always, it is about still being here a year later. My son is healthy (he's testing for his first Soo Bakh Do belt in January!) and we are all hanging in there. My dreams are much smaller these days - as long as we are healthy, then happiness will follow.

Peace and Joy, everyone. Peace and Joy.