Christmas Term Paper

What I Did Over My Christmas Vacation

by kfmb

Yeah, that's how it feels as I sit down to write about my last week. Remember back in school when you had to write this type of paper after a break...or Ralphie writing 'What I Want For Christmas' and he wants that dangerous weapon of mass destruction that takes that ice cycle from hell out on his first shot and breaks his glasses? Good times.

For those of you that are unaware, shame on you, we went to Keystone, Colorado for Christmas. We left Monday after the boys got out of school around noonish. This in itself was a major feat because the boys had final exams Monday and Tuesday. I, having some very decent relationships with all of the schools principles (hey, I'm a sub with personality and in high demand...go figure), was able to rearrange the kids finals so that we could leave on Monday. Only one of the teachers complained that it was an inconvenience...I laugh as I tell this, because I'd informed them that my son had the principles permission and she, for whatever reason, doubted it. She got an up close and personal visit from the principle of the high school, and I got a very sweet apology letter from her.

We drove through Oklahoma and Kansas, stopping in Kansas for the night. I've been through Oklahoma hundreds of times, but I had no idea how gorgeous Kansas was. I loved it. And cheap...dang. The room we got at...I don't know, Comfort Suites maybe? Anyway, huge room with 2 kings, great pool and steam room and that breakfast bar thing in the morning for...$60! I asked twice to make sure. Tell you what, Kansas is a far cry from Dallas!

One of the things I love about taking turns in driving (3 of us now, since Casey's 16) is getting control of the music! Mark, Casey and Charlie all like the same music...rock to heavy rock. Metallica, System of a Down... Me, oh man, they hate it when it's my turn to plug my ipod in. I have everything from Muddy Waters to Janis Joplin, from Willie Nelson to Creed, from Al Green to Kelly Clarkson (and yes, Tom...Bo Bice's entire new cd is on my ipod as well).

I'd never been to Colorado either, so I was just loving every minute of everything. I kept wanting to pull over and take pictures. Mark would say "you just took one like that" and I'm thinking 'are you kidding me???' Different spirits, I guess. I'm like a little kid in a candy store when it comes to new places. A couple of years ago I was determined we'd move to New Mexico after staying at Red River, Taos and Santa Fe. Last year, all I could think of was ways to make a living in Costa Maya after our trip to the Caribbean. This year, Lord please, find a way to relocate us to Colorado. See? I'm just a child at heart.

Our condo was gorgeous, at the base of the mountain. A 3 - 5 minute walk to the lifts. Beautiful fireplace and large balcony facing the slopes. It was a dream, honest. Only downside was that the first full day there (Wednesday) I had to take Charlie to the medical clinic. No skiing accident, well...that would be snowboarding for Charlie, he had acute bronchitis and pharangytis. Very sick kid. Poor thing. So, for most of our 6 days left there, I took care of him. He felt better, but only got back out on the slopes twice after that, and never did the night skiing. Yeah, that's one of the cool things at Keystone, they have the slopes open till 9 p.m.

Christmas eve there were fireworks on top of the mountain, right in front of us so close we could nearly touch them. Great pics too. Charlie's birthday was Christmas eve, and we'd got him a cake and went out to eat. He got a new amp for his guitars and a new distortion pedal. Happy kid.

Christmas I cooked a turkey breast and all the trimmings. Mark had insisted we go out cause he didn't want me to have to deal with it. So I went shopping while he was on the slopes one day and got all the stuff...I WANTED to cook Christmas dinner. I only really cook twice a year, Thanksgiving and Christmas. And, this past Thanksgiving we went to his mom's...so it's what I wanted. We had a wonderful Christmas. The kids were all blessed, but I've got to tell you about my favorite present....but to do so, I've got to back track.

A month or so ago I had my dog in for shots and there was a cat that was up for adoption in the vets office. His name was Maverick. About a year old, and when he'd first been adopted, whomever had taken him brought him back with his jaw shattered. Took 3 surgeries to fix it...sort of. He was fine, but his mouth would never close, he drooled a little and his tongue hung out to the side a little. I fell in love with this cat. I held him and he hugged me. I brought him home. Casey (my 16 yr. old) begged me to not keep him cause he knew his dad would be furious. I knew it too. Things aren't always happy, even in a happy home, you understand? So, I told Casey to take him back. When Mark came home, I told him about Maverick and as expected, he was a bit hostile. NO MORE ANIMALS. Okay, I can see 3 dogs and 3 cats being enough, but I don't see it as too many. Anyway, no Maverick. If you'll remember, I told y'all about my cat, Falco, dying the Monday we left for Colorado. Now, you're up to speed.

For Christmas my husband gave me a new wedding band, some turquoise (Navajo) earrings I loved, and my favorite perfume, Jadore. My favorite gift? His card. I opened it up and there was a blank check with the only writing on it being his signature and in where it said 'memo', he'd written cat adoption. On the inside of the card he wrote that he'd tried to think of what would make me happy, so he went to look for Maverick. The vet's office told him Maverick had found a good home already, so he went to Petsmart and checked the cats and kittens, but thought I'd want to find one that wanted me back...so he gave me a blank check to find myself a new cat to love. He did also write on there that if I wanted to use it for something other than a cat, that it would be okay too, LOL....hopeful thinking, love. I'm not in any hurry to get a cat, I'm not out to find a cat. Every animal I have has just 'happened' and it seemed right. When and if that happens, I'll know. What meant the most to me this Christmas is that Mark went to look for Maverick, he went to Petsmart...he wanted to fill that hole in my heart that Falco had left. He wanted to make it all better for me, and take my hurt away. That's something that even a blank check can't buy.

We left Colorado Monday morning around 6 a.m. their time (7 ours) and got home around 11:30 p.m. that night. Yup, Colorado is a day trip from Dallas! LOL, if it's gotta be, anyway. We just wanted to get home to our 3 dogs, 2 cats and our own beds. It was good coming home.