Hickory Smoked Kisses Sunday, December 24, 2006 [ banter 2 ]

I'm home! Snuck outta work early yesterday and hopped plane (in the rain) to Houston. Voluntarily. All those angry Chicago-bound folks who couldn't get home (the ones screaming and ranting at the check-in desk) made me realize how lucky I am to be spending time with my family at Christmas. My mom met me at the arrival gate crying like a crazy person, so adorable. She is 2 feet tall.

It's been kinda nice getting sucked back into the Family Vortex. Is it just me who sometimes forgets that I'm part of a clan? It's like, drudging through those bitter streets of Manhattan can start to rough up your edges --- gets you so caught up in the daily fight and grind that your energy and memories gets squeezed out. You force yourself out of your little world and traverse across one of those bridges and WOOSH, suddenly get kisses from your mom and hugs from your dad and big smiles from your little sister, these people who are still where you left them... and it just feels so good to be there.

We watched Prancer this morning on DVD, which I remember all the trailers for but never actually saw as a kid. I just lost my shit towards the end, when the dad sits on the bed with the little girl and his mustache and tells her how much she means to him. We shut off the DVD and I just sat there, marinating in my tears until my mom, sitting at the table eating breakfast (feet swinging from her chair) and reading a magazine, randomly spat, "Jennifer Lopez is an asshole.". I laughed so hard I almost peed.

I'm having so much fun. I love my peeps and their shittyass dilaup connection.

Gifts tomorrow! I can't wait to see the faces. I had fun doing presents for everyone this year. Got my dad that M*A*S*H: Martinis & Medicine box set; 36 discs (11 seasons!) of a show that bores me to death but I love faithfully on his behalf. My sister gets a random mix of movies and music that generally induce vomit from her big brother (yeah that was me at Target, wearing a hoodie, sunglasses and shame as I forked over cash money for Nickelback tracks and DVD's from the Sean William Scott ouvre), but I'm also tossing in a few ipod-related goodies that might keep her respectable. My mom's getting a few little asian skirts, jackets, and purses from Chinatown that she pointedly hinted at wanting last time she was in New York. She gets mistaken for Asian all the time, like me, and I know (like me) she secretly loves it, so this is perfect.

Ah, I'm home. Texas soil smells like BBQ. Best holiday wishses and humid hickory smoked kisses from me to everybody out there. Merry Christmas, winners.

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