The Murphy 2010 After-Christmas Party
Thursday, December 30th, 2010
This was the third year in a row, following the great Christmas Day departure of 2008, that the Murphy Christmas gathering did not take place on the holiday itself. Whether I like it or not, this seems to be the wave of the future. So far the gathering has been pushed forward only a maximum of two days after the holiday, but I shudder to think what will happen when Christmas comes on an early weekday. But despite the non-holiday status of the gathering, these parties seem to be just as fun as they always have. This year my Mom hosted again (the first Christmas gathering she’s had since 2007) to a packed capacity house. This one came a little bit earlier than normal also. It began at 1pm, so folks who were going to work the next day would have time for the Sunday-evening-wind-down. Read the rest of this entry »
One of my favorite episodes of the classic sitcom Family Ties was the one when Alex’s friend Skippy comes to the realization that he was adopted. In an act of defiance, he inisists that everyone begin calling him by his birth name Baby Boy Doe. The actor who made numerous appearances as Skippy was Marc Price – and in essence, he stole almost every scene he was in. He didn’t do a whole lot on screen outside his role on Family Ties, but he did have the lead in the heavy metal thriller Trick or Treat starring Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osbourne. 
Yikes! That number is a bit scary. Forty Christmases here on earth, each one unique, and each one special. This year I really noticed how the Christmas celebration began the moment that Briana arrived. Ashleigh went to pick her up on Wednesday, December 22. We met at Chik-fil-A for dinner and then went shopping for our last-minute gifts at Target. Although Ash and Briana did their usual locking themselves in Ashleigh’s room, they did venture out for a bit so that we could all watch some Christmas videos of our Christmas celebrations from 2004 and 2005. 
I’m used to the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas, affectionately known by its more familiar name December, going fast. But this one seemed to be a complete blur. It seemed like I had a lot of time to get the Christmas stuff accomplished – the erecting of the tree, the buying of the gifts, the creating of the newsletter, the making my list, the checking it twice – you know the drill – but before I knew it, Christmas was barreling toward me like an out-of-control locomotive. I scarcely had time to enjoy the Christmas music.