Sunday, December 28, 2008

Christmas 2008


Well, Christmas has come and gone. It has been an unusual Christmas this year, mixed with highs and lows. The highs included happy times with friends and family, sipping peppermint schnapps hot cocoas with my playgroup mamas, viewing holiday light displays all over town, and attending all Christmas themed events near our house. The lows mostly have to do with how my poor husband got laid off in late November in this economy that we now know to be pretty unfriendly to financial types like my husband. While there have been little bites of interest every now and then that have at times gotten us hopeful, nothing has panned out thus far. It is a crazy time for so many people out there with job loss, the stock market plummeting, and house prices sinking. We know we are not alone in our search, although this can make it harder since we also know that there are a lot of other financial/bank people out of work and looking all for the same jobs. We found a job in time last July to keep us afloat with our San Diego mortgage. It could be that this time ends up being different and that we have to rent our house out and move away. For almost a year now we have lived in a state of limbo-- not knowing where we will be in the next six months. While it is certainly a challenging time, it does have its merits. The girls and I are ecstatic to have "Dada" around a lot more and I think that these difficult times have brought Chris and I closer because we have had more time to talk, analyze, and enjoy one another. This Christmas was a lot less about gift lists and mall shopping and a lot more about being a family and enjoying the beauty of the season. With help from Mimi (Grandma), Natalie saw her first theater production of "The Nutcracker" along with her Aunt Renee and cousin (whom she adores) Addie. She sat wide eyed through the entire lengthy production and seemed absolutely dazzled by the music, the dancing, and the colors. Now she can't stop talking about The Nutcracker. She likes to say "My favorite part was when the Nutcracker got hurt. But then I helped him and he got better." She also says "I like the mice.. I want to be a mouse!"
Now that Christmas is over, I have put the fake tree away. Soon the lights will be taken down and we will ring in the new year (inexpensively). We are hoping that 2009 is filled with wonderful new opportunities for our family. 2008 has not been easy but we know that we have a healthy family and great friends and these things make us very rich indeed.