So what was your favorite part of today? When I was growing up my favorite part was waking up and seeing the presents under the Xmas tree. The lights reflecting off of the toys and bouncing to my eyes... We didn't have much but my mother made sure that Xmas was the one day that we forgot how poor we were. Growing up I never understood why she worked 3-4 jobs at a time, but now that I'm grown with children of my own I know the love and sacrifices that parents make for their kids. I would go to hell and back to ensure that would have the same memories that I had growing up.
My favorite Xmas was the one where we got a Nintendo Entertainment System, with games galore. My choice games were Super Dodgeball, and Baseball Stars. Baseball Stars was the first game that I remember where I could trade players and make up my lineup as I see fit.... Super Dodgeball was a game that I could be the United States and take on the world or vice versa, I could have been the Soviet Union beating the shit out of the smug Americans. Our Nintedo would eventually be stolen by an Uncle of one of brother's friends. He was a crackhead, and when we found out what happened, my brother ending up beating his friends ass, while my uncle ended up beating the uncle's ass. Reagan and his "Just Say No" drug program had nothing on a firm ass whipping anti-drug message.
Now with my kids, my worst memory was when my wife was deployed in 04 and my youngest child was celebrating his first Xmas (he was just 10 months old) and she wasn't able to be there with us. When she called I wanted to cry but I didn't want my 3 year old to see me crying. There was one silver lining during her whole deployment, my youngest suffered through a lung infection, where he had to sleep with a machine (I forget the name) that was attached to a mask that went over his face... But during the Holidays, he somehow someway started to breathe without laboring, and without all of the congestion. He was able to see his first snow (we celebrated the Holidays, with my parents back in OKC that year)....
Today my kids received bakugan toys, Star Wars lego kits, RC vehicles, clothes, Nintendo Wii games, PSP games, and autographed pictures of former University of Oklahoma football players. They started opening up gifts around 0200 in the morning. Their smiling faces brought back those great memories of my childhood.
How was your holiday? What did Santa bring you? RIP Eartha Kitt. Gift Certificates are the best things of all time.....