The Murphy 2009 After-Christmas Party
Thursday, December 31st, 2009
Like the previous year, our family broke tradition once again by not having the Murphy family Christmas gathering on Christmas Day itself. This one was much more palatable than last year as it took place only one day after the holiday itself – rather than two, and it did not take place in the unseasonably warm weather of the year before. In short, it just actually felt more like Christmas. I think I had the best time here out of any of the Christmas celebrations I attended this year. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s not enough to just meet one Fake Jan in a year’s time. After having previously met 
I didn’t sleep all that well on Christmas Eve night on Denise’s couch – hearing the periodic coughing from Grandpa Murphy upstairs and also a bit on the warm side on this blustery cold night. So I popped awake immediately at 7:00am when I heard the pitter patter of one set of little feet as Adam came to down to have a look around. Oddly, he gave only a cursory glance at the milk and cookies (which had naturally been consumed) and the gifts under the tree before disappearing back upstairs to his room. 
The culmination of all of the holiday preparations, the raising of the tree and placing of the decorations, the making of the list and checking it twice, all of the gift buying and wrapping, the newsletter assembly, the baking (okay well, the purchasing of four bottles of soda and two packages of dinner rolls) - all sending the credit card debt into the stratosphere – came about on Thursday, December 24, 2009, as I entered into my 39th Christmas here on earth. 
December 2009 was not all that good to me. It was mostly a month of sadness and sickness, with the weather turning colder and the days getting shorter. In fact, I considered not putting up a Christmas tree at all this year, instead just settling for celebrating the month by watching Third Rock From the Sun on DVD, but thankfully Ashleigh was in the Christmas spirit and said she wanted one. But before we began this venture, I was faced with illness number one for the month.