2012 Here We Go!

Maren Vada is 18 months and she gave new meaning to "And to All A Good Night" this Christmas Eve.  She has decided that sleeping through the night isn't so much fun, and so we are back to our late night rendezvous together.  The thought of even trying to put together a Christmas letter this year sent me into waves of anxiety because there is no way that I could lie that much to people I truly care about: "Nothing to worry about at the Williams' house! We have got it allll under control!  Everything is working great! Nope not ONE appliance has conked out! NOPE! Not the refrigerator or the snow blower..heh heh.. We are reallly great!  What is debt anyway? Who has that?  NOT US!  Don't even worry about it!  Maren?  Oh not a problem!  Throat? PERFECT! No doctor's visits here!  And sleeping??  LIKE A BABY! Every night!  Sleep deprivation? What is that?  We don't have it! Heh heh!  That doesn't affect us ONE bit!..."
I mean you can see..it just would have been fake as shit..and there is one thing I cannot stand...bullshit.
Look, I am going to be 40..and that is probably my mantra: Look, I am going to be 40...so everyone should just get used to hearing it, sorry.
But when people bullshit...ooooh that bugs me. And so when those Christmas letters come and they are filled with a bunch of well, bullshit..I have a hard time.
Now I have to say that one of my girlfriends from high school does send a great one. She talks about her kids and their funny things and their milestones..and barely mentions she and her husband..and I really like that.  Because there isn't room for bullshit.  It's just plain and simple about the children. Super. Great.  I do not need to hear about adults and their "year".  That is weird. And boring. Tell me about your kids and move along.   The fact that you are now a black belt in karate at 37 or have fulfilled your life long dream of becoming certified as an International Artisan bread maker is just not that interesting and frankly, it sounds like bragging.  Update your status on Facebook and get over yourself.
Okay, so that's off my chest.

Ahh..Christmas..It truly was our best Christmas ever, even in light of the fact that we had very little sleep (thank you Maren!  I loved my present!! ) because Keegan was sooo into the season.  He was all about Santa and the presents, of course, and Rudolph, and yes, even baby Jesus. It was such a magical time to watch him so excited for every single little thing that happened.  I think the most impressive act of his life could be waiting for three hours on Christmas morning to open presents while his sister snoozed happily after her "up all night" escapades.  What kid has patience like that?  Since that day, though, he has exhibited almost NO patience and so I think he used it all up and now we're in for it for the rest of his childhood. Oh well. You can't win 'em all, as Will reminds me frequently.  

And probably the best part of our break has been spending so much time home as a family.  As long as Will and I got out by ourselves each day, we really did great!

"Are you still at the shoe store? You've been gone for three hours!"

"Oh yeah. I uh, I am coming home right now. I couldn't decide."

"Well, did you buy any Will?"

"Nooo...but, uh, they were really understocked."

Do NOT compare the amount of time he has been gone to your time yesterday at Target. Do not compare the amount of time he has been gone....

So it's worked out beautifully and we even had a romantic New Year's Eve dinner ALONE..AT A RESTAURANT.. a real date.  It was fabulous.

Except for the dude one table away who clearly had "Listen To Me" issues and talked at the top of his lungs thus allowing me into his whole conversation about his ex-wife and the custody of his child and the large sum of money he was clearly trying to get out of the people he was having dinner with....

"Are you even paying attention to me?"

"WILL!! He is so loud! But shh!  He's just at the part about asking for the big bucks!"

But in the end it was a wonderful night, Maren slept.....until 4 am..grrrr...and all is well that starts well in 2012 for the little family who could.

Or couldn't, depending on the day. 

 I am not going to bullshit you.

I am almost 40.

Happy New Year!