my life with depression.com

It’s

8:30am

Christmas morning and I’ve only had 30mins of sleep. I can’t even call that sleep. It should be called a brief nap. I’m sitting at the breakfast table waiting for my brother and sister to wake up from their hour nap. This is one of the reasons why I love Christmas. The three of us took our little naps in the family room. My brother and I somehow were able to share the couch while sissy took a side chair and ottoman. It seems that every year, the three of us would somehow find each other downstairs. And just like clock work, we would sneak out of the house and share a cigarette or two or three and talk. Our Christmas Eve party ended when the house was cleaned up and the parents went to bed. They usually go to bed before us because they have to make sure that "Santa" wakes up early enough to drop off gifts in our stockings! Well, it’s now

8:37

and Santa still has not woken up. My brother moved to his room and sissy is taking a shower.

This year was an especially good conversation. Our lives bring us to different areas of the state and finding the time to hang out and talk has been hard. We’ve had these Christmas catch up sessions for about 3years now. We started out talking about something that the 3 of us all shared; which will remain between the three of us. That conversation moved into our childhood memories. It’s funny to find that although we all lived in the same household and we had the same parents, our view of the past tended to be dramatically different to somewhat the same. It was great to exchange our perceptions of what we were talking about and what I will not post. We were able to open up with each other and really tell each other what our biggest current issues are and what makes us who we are. We found that being a "Marcelo" and being raised to be competitive was a common thing that drove us. Though we have our own little quirkiness, we had those two things hard wired in us. We realized that all three of us have the same temperament as our dad. That’s kinda cool to see. (continued Jan1, 2006)

So that is the first reason, the second is that I get a whole week off without having to take a vacation day; another one of the perks to working in my industry. Although I try to see friends throughout the year when I’m in LA each month, family comes first and this year has been primarily family. Even this past week has been primarily family. My friend Steve came over on his way home from an aunt’s house and the other friend is one that I lost this year due to miscommunication. I have to admit that I had a lot to do with the “break up.” Luckily I’ve learned how to say “sorry” and mean it.

Okay, the third has to be that this season really tests your patience. The whole world is so busy running around… buying presents… returning gifts… trying to find parking… running late to some event. Since my commute in the

Los Angeles

traffic for 5 years and since the birth of my nieces and nephew, I’ve found that I actually have a lot of patience. It was so evident when my cousins and I went to lunch at the mall a few days after Christmas. There were so many cars on the road and so many cars in the mall parking lot. It seemed that no one was happy. Actually, I was the only one happy because I just pulled my car up to the valet. Using the valet is not a sign of impatience. It’s a sign that

Myra

was use to valet parking when working in LA and that she’s been frustrated with the lack of it in SF. Actually, I’ve been told that I especially have patience when I’m teaching or when with kids. We shall see how I am with my own….

Aside from New Year’s Eve, Christmas is the only other holiday where people from around the world come together to celebrate. Whether they believe in the birth of Jesus Christ or they are Buddhists who have taken on a western celebration (in japan, it’s a day for romance-very similar to our valentines day), people join in and celebrate. In that sense, we become one in a world that is so divided.

These reasons are not in order of importance, but the last reason is family. Christmas is the biggest holiday for the Marcelos. Throughout the year, we celebrate other special days. These include but are not limited to birthdays, anniversaries, births and Memorial Day. Due to distance or situations, we are not always guaranteed to see one another except during Christmas. This is a time when Mom and Pops deck the house with festive decoration in every nook and cranny. The stocking that I’ve had for forever hangs next to my brother and sister’s stocking which they’ve also had for forever. The newest ones are Andrew, Sarah and Shiya’s. The nativity scene stands next to the tree that holds the tree ornament that I made when I was 6years old. It obviously hangs front and center for everyone to admire. Along with the other decorations stands the reindeer that I made along time ago.

Well, I’ve got to get ready for dinner. There you have it. My five reasons. I’m sure yours are very similar.