Christmas Vacation

Being at home was pretty great. This is what happened:

• Like three Christmases between the Reids, my parents, and then at my cousin's.
• Lots and lots of eating with no regard for type of food I was ingesting.
• Very little exercise. I went to the gym once, and played soccer twice, and I'm feeling it now. I think I only ended up gaining a few pounds over the entire break, but it's funny how much of an impact exercise has psychologically. I probably look exactly the same as I did two weeks ago, but I feel like a fat load.
  
• Sleeping in. Everyday. Pretty much.
• Lots of time with the kiddos. I feel like Mason is pretty familiar with me, and I got to renew my relationship with my niece, which is really fun.
  
• Bowling. Soccer. Batting cages.
  
• Dozens of hours of boardgames. I'm pretty sure that is pretty exact actually and not at all an exaggeration.
• Multiple lunches and dinners with friends and loved ones.
• Unwritten Law.
  
• Drive to and from California with some younger guys who feel like little brothers to me.

I don't really think there is much else. Here are some of my thoughts during the break:

• It probably shouldn't surprise me, but my friends and family really love me. I'm totally serious. They really do. They want to spend time together all the time. They always want to hang out. They always want to know what I'm up to. Sometimes it gets a little tiresome, but mostly it's just really, really welcome. I would be gone from the Reids for just a few hours and I could always count on a text from one of them asking what I was up to, when I was coming back, and if I wanted to play trains again, etc.
  
• I think it's funny how there is family that you love and there is family that you have to tolerate. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who feels that way. I love some of my family and am okay with spending all the time in the world with them, and then there are some other family members that I just really have a hard time with. I think I'm mostly a pretty peaceful soul, but there is one person in particular that just always makes me feel so tense. I can do without it. The problem is that this person is attached to another person that I really appreciate, and so it's hard to enjoy one in the presence of the other. Hopefully that's vague enough that nobody can be identified...
• The guys I drove home with are one- and two-years removed from their missions. It was fun to talk with them about the mission and life. They just feel so much younger in certain respects. One of the things they brought up is how one of their friends had been dating a girl and they didn't like the fact that he changed when he was around her. I remember thinking that when I was younger too, but it's impossible for someone not to change when they're around someone else, unless that person is exactly like the original. The real question is whether you like the person that you're changing into.
  
• Brothers bickering is hilarious to me. A pair of brothers (not the Reids) came and played soccer both weeks, and it's so funny listening to them prodding each other. This also happens with the Reid boys, and it's pretty funny then too. And sometimes I take part in that dynamic with them because of my closeness to the family.
• I think what makes Dave and I such good friends is that we're completely non-competitive with each other, which is interesting because we're both very competitive people in general, but never with each other.
• Dan Brown is a good storyteller, but he's not a good writer. I can read Jack Kerouac write about jello hardening and think it's the most enthralling thing ever, but sometimes reading Dan Brown is grating because what are supposed to be really climactic moments is diffused by poor word choice. Plus, why hasn't Robert Langdon evolved at all as a character? I'm reading Lost Symbol, and it's like the guy learned nothing from his previous experiences in Angels and Demons and Da Vinci Code. It's still interesting though.
• I hate the question, would you prefer extreme heat or extreme cold? Well, it's neither, obviously, because both are miserable. But what about just hot to cold, like 90 to 30 degrees. I would always take 90 degrees over 30 degrees. I hate not being able to go outside and just stay out there. I prefer sandals and t-shirts to layers. I prefer warm weather activities to cold ones. That's just me. The thing is, when you're outside and it's 30 degrees, it's 30 degrees or colder. When you're outside and it's 90 degrees, it's not that way in the shade, plus you get cool breezes. I love summer nights. Plus I tan really well, and my complexion gets much clearer with sunshine. All good things. I'm saying that I prefer California still, but I have had a much better attitude about Utah for the last year or two.
  
• I love concerts. I cannot emphasize that enough. I haven't seen Unwritten Law for over a year, and they are really good live. Music is meant to be heard in person. I was counting how many times I've seen them and Strung Out in person - it's at least 13 and 15 times respectively. Pretty crazy, huh?
• As much as I love being home home, I still like being in my home. I liked taking a shower in my shower and using my towels, and tonight I'll love getting into my bed. Those are nice things.
• My friends are all really impressive people. Just good souls. I love them so dearly, and I'm just so grateful to have the privilege of their association.

That's the short of it.