I feel like I can finally start thinking about and enjoying Christmas now that I am done teaching for the year. I will actually be at home in Utah for Christmas. It is just the second time in the last six years that I have been here. The previous two were spent in Arizona, here the year before that, and then the two before that in Seattle. So I guess it is a 2 years away and 1 year home pattern I have going.
I am going to miss being in Arizona. For those of you who have relatives close by and do things with them you are very lucky. I hope everyone appreciates their big families and relatives. In Utah all I have is the four of us in my family, subtract my brother in Mongolia for his mission, and my Uncle. Whenever my Uncle comes over to visit it is a family reunion. That is it for the Horan clan. Quality, but not much quantity.
For this reason, and just because my relatives are awesome, I love being able to go to Arizona where my mom has 6 siblings as well as my Grandma and Grandpa Fife. There I am very lucky to have both quality and quantity. Plus I actually have cousins! It is so much fun to spend time with them and play games and enjoy Christmas for what it really is, a time for family and to celebrate the life and birth of Christ. I feel like I have grown a lot closer to them just in the few weeks of time I have spent with them the past two years at Christmas. I wish I could see them more often.
Christmas here is nice though too, I get to spend some good time with my friends who stuck around in Utah. I also got to watch the BYU bowl game for the first time in a while, because my relatives don't have ESPN. I also will get to have a White Christmas, maybe even get to go and play in it a little bit. Christmas is what you make of it, and I plan to make it a great one.
I hope that you are able to do the same, enjoy it wherever you are and with whoever you are with. Take a moment to stop running around and relax and enjoy it for what it really is.
Merry Christmas!
