Where Have You Been -- It's Christmas

OK, OK, I know it has been a long time since my last post. October in fact, that is too long a span to try and make up here in this posting, but let's just say I have been busy with life, Thanksgiving, mine and Leeann's birthday, Katie.

But, enough about that, lets talk about Christmas. We had a great one to say the least. The past several weeks I have been putting together things I wanted to get Leeann. Since she has lost so much weight, it is almost like she is a new person. She is still the same person, but she is in a way a new person. She has gotten into wearing P.J.'s. She looks so cute in them that I went out for the first time since we have been married and got her some new PJ's from Victoria's Secret. I was not too sure she would like them. I knew they would fit, but I was not sure she would like them. SHE DID!! I was so happy.

This was one of the best Christmas we have had with Katie in a long time. In Christmas past she has either rushed through the gifts so fast that she did not know what she had or she didn't care what she got. Today, she smiled so big at each gift, she looked at each one with joy and happiness. She opened one gift, a blanket that was very soft to the touch and could be heated up in the microwave oven to warm her up. Anyway, she touched the blanket and said in the biggest "Princess" voice, "So Impressive" with a bit of attitude thrown in for good measure. You just had to laugh.



We let her play the rest of the day and just have some fun. Now, in the years past, she played with a few things, but moved on to her favorite toys she had before Christmas. This year was so different. When we finished with the gifts, she went up to her room and got her iPod on a danced around like she does most any other day. "Oh well," we thought, same as every year. But, much to our amazement and joy, she went to her new dress up trunk, played with her new cat and talking parrot. (Not a real one mind you, but you would think it was real the way it talks back) It was so much fun to listen to her play with her toys, to be a little girl and just to hear her have some fun.

I did a bit blue tonight as we were winding things down tonight. I made a garbage run with some of the big boxes and wrapping paper. There were not many people out and I was taking the long way home to look at some lights. I went by a house near our home and there in the window was a small, and i do mean small, Christmas tree with a few lights on it. It was the only sign of any Christmas in the house as the rest of the house was dark. It made me think back to my dad and one very special Christmas we had:

I had been out of the Army since March and i was living with my dad and two brothers. We didn't have a lot of money, but we did OK. It was late November or early December, I can't remember, and my dad and I were talking about what we were going to do for Christmas. I told him that I didn't want to do much of anything for Christmas, I wasn't in the Christmas mood, didn't want to go through all the trouble and such. I said, "Dad, I don't even want a tree to put up, it is too much hassle. Besides, who would notice?" He got so mad at me when I said that. He jumped up and said, "As long as I am alive, have a roof over my head and a dollar in my pocket, we WILL have a tree in this house!" With that, he went out the door and came back about 20 minutes later with a small tree, about 2 feet tall with a few lights on it. He stuck in on top of the TV we had in the living room. He looked at me, smiled at me and said, "There will always be a tree in this house no matter how small the tree or the house."

I miss my dad sometimes, I miss being able to talk to him about things. I miss the fact that he never got to meet Leeann or to see his first grandchild, Katie, or that he missed being able to play with her. Most of all, I miss him being in my life. I know that he is with me, but sometimes I wish I had one more day with him.

I hope everyone has had a great Christmas.