Holiday Memories

We've all got memories of various holidays. Some are good, some are bad, some make you wish you could live in that day forever, others make you glad to go to bed and wake up to a new day. I'm always awash in memories this time of year and, for the most part, I'm grateful for that. Even the worst memories are usually a chance to think about something or someone that made me a better or more complete person, and it's an opportunity to be thankful for that. I'm bad about this "blogging" stuff when it comes to actual "This is what I've been up to" posts, but I want to try harder this year to share some of my memories and reflect on why they have stayed with me so long.

First up, I give you December, 2001: I think this was the first of what has come to be called "Family Christmas", where the Rieks and a few lucky friends get together for dinner, dessert, and a little gift exchange. In 2001, we'd all been through a really hard year. Just before Rene's birthday, we'd lost Matt and Brad's dad, Ron, to cancer.

While we'd lost Ron, I'll never forget the feeling that we'd gained something else. Together, we were an extended family, supporting one another as only a family could. That year, I gained a sister and 2 older brothers that I wouldn't trade for the world, and we all met Erin for the first time, too. We even had our "wacky sidekick" BT, who was at the same time our comic relief and biggest pain in the butt.

That night, we went to dinner at the shiny new Saltgrass Steakhouse, drinking some wine and eating delicious food - then Matt and Rene surprised us all by treating us to dinner! We even took time to pose for a wacky photo:



After that, we went back to Brad's house and had hot cocoa (with Bailey's, as I recall) and opened presents. Everyone had chipped in to get me a set of Nightmare Before Christmas watches I'd always wanted, and treasure to this day. Erin got a goofy popcorn popper, and (I think) this was the year I'd been dumb enough to try to make my own wrapping paper. Oof!

I went home that night thinking "I'll NEVER forget tonight!", and I was right. This night will stick with me forever as all I'd ever hoped a Christmas would be. Friends, family, food, fun, and a room full of love. Is the memory of that night tainted by the sadness that bookends it? A little. I'm grateful that we didn't know how hard our lives would get less than a year later, because our ignorance left us able to enjoy this night to its fullest. Here's a pic of "the guys", in all our glory...