Ho! Ho! Ho!

This week has been a polar opposite to last week's rush of getting things done before my very own Santa Claus came to town. We are at the end of the trip now, with a flight out of Chicago awaiting him tomorrow. My love/hate relationship with airports veers to the loathing side as we approach tomorrow's impending departure. I like the arrivals oh so much more! But having the preparation rush over, and the relaxing week in, makes me reflective about the last few weeks, before I push to the end of the Christmas celebrations.

Work has been strange; some nights crazily crowded but tip-deprived, others steady and tip-wealthy. Still others have been downright slow and tortuous, not only to the psyche, but the wallet too. It seems for awhile there, there was always another envelope to contribute to something for someone. There was an envelope for a gift for the owners, another for our dining room manager, yet another for our compadre who just had major surgery. When you find another cause awaiting donation everytime you walk through the door, you begin to hope the holidays will simply end. But we scored big for our immediate supervisor who manages our schedule and dining operations! We managed to get her the one thing she truly wanted, but wouldn't splurge for on her own. One of our servers works part-time at Land's End, so attaining the coat Julie wanted was a piece of cake. It's also very cool that we didn't just get her something ho-hum because it's tradition to get the management a gift this time of year! She was blown away and we were tickled to see her so pleased. We'll see how she does with her responsibility for choosing something equally as wonderful for our owners. ;)

We had a cookie exchange last week, too. Not so many showed up, but we had fun! I wasn't sure I'd go since I had the airport pick-up the day before, but I managed to be up, feeling like I wanted to do lunch with the gals and contribute some molasses cookies to the mix. I got to tell my horror story from the travel day of my guy too. It truly was one of those Murphy tales. Santa's day began with his oversleeping, then traffic delaying the departure from home. A layover flight was canceled because there weren't enough passengers. The upshot was a 1am pick-up instead of a 4pm pick-up. The crowning jewel on the day was the surprise (which wasn't such a surprise) of the lost luggage that required a stop at 1:30am in the Lost Luggage Office. It was delivered via FedEx a day and a half later. But even with the arrival home at 6am, I made the noon cookie exchange and lunch!

When I told the girls that I was waking up my visitor when I got home so we could go get a tree, I got a great gift. One of my co-workers is in the Christmas tree business. She's also in the good deed business. When she heard I didn't have a tree yet, she almost leaped out of her chair. "You don't have a tree yet?!? You HAVE to come over and take one from me!" Turns out, she had a few extra that she'd been trying to give away. I followed her home and we loaded one in my sleigh. It's a perfectly sheared Fraser since her husband's company is our largest Christmas tree exporter. I wouldn't be surprised if some of you readers have trees that come from the same place mine did. It really seems lately, that it's not what you know, but who you know that brings great rewards. Heck, I'll take that.

And speaking of who you know... a few days ago Tom Bodett left a comment on my last blog. It's silly, but that comment made me grin like a little kid. Tom Bodett, the Motel 6 guy who leaves the light on...that's him! He left me a comment, read some of my blog! That's a gift in itself. I guess the reason it's cool is because some of my online friends and I have had a running joke about meeting at the Motel 6. We love Tom Bodett because he'll "leave a light on..." and we like to pretend we know him personally. And, in real life, we used to stay at a little Motel 6 when I visited my boyfriend. (We quit staying there after a guy was caught in the room next door to the one we used to stay in with a girl's body in his suitcase. Apparently, he had been taking her from motel to motel in that bag. Ewww. No offense to Motel 6 or Tom Bodett though. After all, that was the place where he was finally apprehended, which might be bad for business, but it kind of makes them heroes, doesn't it?)! And anyway, Tom Bodett didn't make that happen by leaving the light on. He's got a great blog that is worth checking out, so go read it! http://www.bodett.com/blog/index.htm

Thank you for stopping by, Tom Bodett. :)

So Christmas is zooming up on us!! Ready or not, here it comes! I'm ready. I'm calm. What I'm really looking forward to is the new year. This has been a tough year, truth be told. I feel a little squirmy to get away from it. I know it's just one day blending into the next, but I need to feel like I am moving forward to a new place. I wrote about it in my Christmas letter, mentioned it to friends and family to try to hold myself accountable. "Writing more regularly is my beginning point. In the next few months while it’s cold outside, I hope to start churning out some really marketable stuff. Time will tell, but I’ve made a promise to myself to get beyond the ‘getting by’ status of my life and reach higher. I just need more."

I just need more.

I bet in the next weeks my blog becomes pensive. Writing is the sorting belt for all that passes through one's mind. How do we find that place where we are happy with who we are and what we do? I'm not sure, but I will journey into 2007 in search of the satisfaction that I'm reaching my full potential.

Meantime, I'm gonna enjoy the rest of this Christmas season. In fact, I celebrate December 22nd like a Sun Goddess. We will offically be past the shortest day of the year. Now that makes my heart happy. :) God bless your holiday and your new year.