Back in December 2009

2010 is upon us and as we look ahead I am still digesting December and the highs and lows that came with it. Here are some of those:

My scheduled pulling of wisdom teeth became postponed til the New Year as the Dr. felt that pulling even one right now might cause complications (more to follow). Pain medication would kept me company throughout the holiday.

Hokey Christmas was on the 17th and had a great turnout of old friends, musicians and holiday partiers. It was great that Greta made it with her posse including her dad all the way from Cheboygan and the always great dancing styles of Ms. Johnson. Marty and Kelly, the tradition lives ! I walked home in a light snow after 1:oo AM.

We had a festive and filling dinner out at the Konvalinka's on the 18th, a snowy and icy night. Kudos to our hosts for the invite, entertainment and hospitality. Let's do this more often;)

Next, was picking up Ashley coming in from Boston on the 22nd at Detroit Metro. This reunion for parents and daughter is always special; smooth driving and pickup.

On the 23rd I had a fun evening around the corner with JMan drinking the local Bell's Best Brown and discussing the state of the world and where we might be headed.

We usually try and do something special when Ashley is home as a family so this year we wanted to take her to one Kalamazoo's new restaurants, we took her to Zooroona, which specializes in middle eastern fare. It was very nice but we neglected to have our photo taken in our cozy little booth. Food very good and unique atmosphere.

Christmas Eve was next and this traditionally is spent at our house with Mary's family, all of whom were from around town this year. A Highlight was seeing Aunt Frannie blow out the birthday candles for her 89th birthday, which was the 26th. Otherwise, food, drink, a fire, music, a few early gifts and warm vibes were flowing.

Our immediate family is lucky to still be able to spend Christmas morning together as it has been for 25 years. The four of us sharing gifts and each other's company. One of my best gifts this year is seeing Ashley and Callie enjoying each others company, whether playing games or just talking. It does a parent's heart good as they don't often have a chance to do this anymore.

The rest of the day was spent being lazy, eating, games, and another tradition of watching videos from Christmas long ago.

The day after Christmas we headed to Detroit for the annual trek to my extended family visits.
Cousin Erin was in town from San Fran as was Sister Sheryl husband Jim, Sister Suze and niece Lily (all down from N. Mich) and we gathered at my Mom's in Fraser for brunch and my Dad and Bev's in Sterling Hts. for dinner. My step dad Linc was still in the hospital from his recent brain surgery and this made it difficult for us to celebrate but we did appreciate each other and our health even more. The love my mom gets from all this is more important than ever as she tries to find the best situation for Linc. Our visit with him on Sunday gave us a dose of reality that many families are dealing with these days. We try and do the best we can.

I did get in a quick visit with friend Corby who resides in Grosse Pte. We met up and watched some LiDowns at the Red Red Robin. He came over my mom's house for a visit after and we reminisced about old times in the neighborhood.

So all in all after the festivities with I think 19 or so in Sterling Hts. where Mary, Callie, Ashley and I stayed the nights we headed back home on Monday with a detour to get Ashley to her flight at Detroit Metro which just had the bomb scare so all the security was on a heightened status. This drop off is tough enough after a too short visit to say goodbye without many tears.

My Dad and Bev were readying themselves for their trip south which they left for on the 30th.

Mary, Callie and I would head back through the snow to our elder doggie Maddie back home, where Uncle Joe had been watching over her.

I want to say thanks to all for the heartfelt love we have as family and friends. Let us keep it with us as we deal with the challenges ahead in 2010. May it keep our hearts strong and mindful of those things that are most important.

Peace brother and sisters all Peace be with you.