Highlights of the Holidays, the Good, Bad and Ugly

** Waking up to see A*'s grinning face above mine and realizing that this is the third Christmas I get to spend with the love of my life, this wonderful man who has made my life so great, and thinking that I have the whole rest of our lives to celebrate countless Christmas'.

** Watching the cats tear into their catnip toy presents like they were four year old kids who couldn't wait and then throwing them all over the room in joyful exhuberation.

** Seeing my grandma, who probably won't make it through another Christmas, laugh with my five year old cousin as he wound her oxygen tube around and around himself.

** When my other six year old cousin asked my mom very loudly at the table if Santa goes potty.

** Watching my cousin open up a present from my grandma, and then when my grandma said "Do you know what that is?" and my cousin registers that it is the cross that we have never seen grandma without, and then her face crumples and she has to excuse herself to the bathroom because she doesn't want her kids to see her cry. Then when she back out, her son asked, "Didn't you like your present, Mom?"

** Upon entering A*'s sister's house, his nephew runs up to him in his Fantastic Four pajama's and yells, "Here's your present Uncle A*~ it's basketball tickets!" before we had even taken off our coats.

** Hearing about how A*'s nephew was outside before the sun came up so that he could ride his new bike.

** Watching A*'s sister and her ex-husband being civil to each other and even sitting down at the table together, all for the sake of their son.

** Seeing my twelve year old brother blush and grin the hugest smile ever when he opened his "Sport's Illustrated Swim Suit" calander.

** A*'s face as he opened a present that was meant for me, but was addressed to him. He started to pull the pink sweater out of the box, and I saw him trying to rearrange his facial features into something that suggested that he really really loved the pink sweater, and then seeing the relief when my mom laughed and told him that it really belonged to me.

** A*'s total excitement when he ripped the paper off our new Home Theater System, something that he has been wanting for years, and then the sweet way he apologized to me because he "knew that I didn't really care all that much about it, but it was our big present."

** Seeing A* and my dad drink Scotch together and make plans to play video games.

** Having my whole family under one roof, including my cousin who recently completed boot camp.

** My other cousin, who is 18, and who I didn't even think remembered my name half the time, got my name in the gift exchange and got me the most perfect present anyone could ever have chosen, and then seeing the genuine pleasure on his face when he saw how much I loved it.

** A*, after downing more than one glass of Scotch, getting all touchy feely and hugging and kissing me in my mother's kitchen.

** Driving home from my parent's, after a day with my family and thinking how lucky we are and how happy I am, bursting into tears and telling A* "I'm just so overwhelmed, I don't know what to do!"

** 11:30 pm Christmas night, watching A* climb around behind the TV in his boxer shorts and slippers, hooking up the new Home Theater System.

** Being jolted from sleep when the system was finally hooked up because A* had to try it out and he put on an action movie so that he could "see how this baby runs", and speakers were right by my ear and I nearly fell right off the couch with the loudness.

** Falling asleep in A*'s arms, content and full of holiday good cheer.