Christmas Day 2011
Saturday, December 31st, 2011
Christmas 2011 was back in line with Christmas traditions of Murphy yore. For the first time since 2007, we were returning our family gathering to Christmas Day itself. It made for an incredibly full and fulfilling day, although in the end, I wondered if this much activity and fun was best spread out over more than one day after all! But no matter, it was what it was. And it was a blast from start to finish. I had spent the night at Denise and Aaron’s house, so this was where my Christmas morning started. Read the rest of this entry »
With the way things were shaping up throughout December, I had much to look forward for the 2011 holiday season. This would be Silas’ first Christmas, and although at less than 8 months old, he wouldn’t really know what was going on, there was bound to be ample cuteness. This was also the first Christmas that I would be spending with Jamie, and we had made plenty of plans to spend time together. Although I would have liked to have her at my family gathering on Christmas Eve night, she was spending that evening with her folks and had allotted quite a bit of time for me on Christmas Day. 
I was hoping for a white Christmas for 1986, mostly because I had a new sled. But hoping for and getting wasn’t always the same - as this Christmas proved. There was sickness a-brewing in my house. Denise had interrupted my movie-watching on the evening of Saturday, December 20, to let me know that she had thrown up all over her room. She spent the rest of the weekend recovering, but not before leaving the germs of a flu bug behind. By Tuesday, Dad was feeling ill and was having productive sessions over the toilet. 
The first Christmas that would be spend in our new house on Winterset Drive came about on Monday, December 25, 1978. As I recall, the transition was seamless. I had had some wonderful, warm holiday celebrations at our house on Echo Hill – but I think I was just as happy in our new digs and would remain so for the 15 Christmases after this one. This was the only Christmas during which we opened our new presents on the hideous family room carpet that came with the house. We’d be replacing it shortly after the first of the year. But I digress…