Home for the Holidays


It was such a treat to be home for the holidays! Sarah and I went to her home in Charleston, West Virginia, to spend the week leading up to Christmas with her family. We had a nice week visiting with her family and friends, relaxing and trying to get some last minute holiday shopping accomplished. Being Jewish, this was my first real family Christmas. Sarah had always told me about their Christmas tree hung with homemade ornaments from when they were kids. She'd reminisced about sneaking down the stairs Christmas morning, wide eyed, to discover the bounty Santa had left beneath the tree. I had a wonderful time reliving these childhood memories with her.

Sarah and I made it back home to Columbus just in time to spend Chanukah with my family. My aunt had a Chanukah party and I was able to relive some of my childhood memories: potato latkes, dreidles, and laughing with my family. Each of the eight nights of Chanukah, we lit the menorah candles with my nieces. Then the girls eagerly tore into their Chanukah presents! Of course, I was just a wee bit excited too about the presents I received...

No sooner was Chanukah finished than it was time to celebrate the New Year. We didn't have any particularly exciting plans... just spend the evening with my brother and his family. My nieces Becca (6) and Abby (3) were very excited about staying up past their bedtime until midnight to see the New Year in. We watched a movie and played a board game... and we older folks struggled to stay awake. As midnight and 2006 approached, we switched the TV channel over to Times Square, counted down as the ball dropped, shouted "Happy New Year," set off some noise makers... and then wished everyone a "good night" and went to bed.
Posted: 01/05/06