Tuesday, December 21, 2004
| Guten Tag Christmas!
After months of planning and preparation, my parents, Paul and I are meeting at Newark airport tomorrow to fly to Germany. My brother and his girlfriend will meet us at the airport and we will begin a two week vacation of wonderfullness. Last year at this time, my brother was living in Baghdad, fighting the president’s ineffective war. This year, we will all get to be together for the first holiday in a very long time. All of us will spend Christmas in Germany and then on the 27th, Paul and I take a mini-trip by ourselves to Barcelona! He and I will tool around there for 4 days and then we will meet up with my parents and brother again in Paris for New Years! It all sounds very surreal, but it’s what we’re doing! And I couldn’t be happier to be a part of it. NYC has been beating the fuck out of me over the last month. This trip, honestly, couldn’t come at a better time. While I do love being with my friends on New Years, this time around I am elated to be doing something different and unusual. And spending the holiday in front of the Eiffel Tower surely consitutes as unusual for me. Thinking back on last year, my parents, some of my friends, and I brought in the New Year in the center of Times Square. At the time, we thought THAT event would be the biggest and craziest New Year we had ever had. Fast forward to now and I’m bringing in 2005 with a bunch of French people! How will next year possibly top that?? Will I have to go to the moon and hang out with aliens? So sad that my life has peaked at the ripe old age of 27. Most importantly, I am PSYCHED to see my brother. I was able to spend a couple of weeks with him during the summer, but it’s never enough. I feel like we still have conversations left over from that visit to finish. He and I always have the best time together. We laugh non-stop and gang up on my parents and just bond like nobody’s bihness. I am so blessed to have my brother alive and well and I am SO grateful that we have the relationship that we have. He’s a great kid and I love him dearly. I’m also meeting my brother’s girlfriend, Nina, for the first time! Nina was a pillar of strength for my parents while my brother was serving his time in Iraq. To think that we have never actually MET this girl. I feel like she’s part of my family already. And my family is REALLY hard to get in with…ask my friends. Nina got a pass because she took such good care of my brother while he was away. Now she just has to pass the Joe test to see if she’s gonna fit in full time. And Joe gives very difficult tests. Also, I am so so happy that Paul will be going with me on this trip. There is no one in the world I would rather share this experience with. Since moving in together, Paul has become quite the boyfriend. The biggest problem I have with him is that he works ALL the time. It’s the busy season in the restaurant industry, so I do understand that he is making bank right now. But sometimes it’s lonely without him around. Actually, a lot of times it’s lonely without him around. But for two whole weeks, Paul and I will be attached at the hip. It’s DAMN exciting. I am positive that I will have the best Christmas of my life. Fitting, since last year was the worst Christmas of my life. I wish everyone out there happy holidays! Make the most of every minute and find some time to eat great food and relax. If I get the opportunity, I’ll drop in here and give a quick update during my trip. If not, you can surely expect to hear from me after the 1st. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR! |
