Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas morning and I'm the only one up at a quarter-to-nine, which is strange in a house where Katy's dad is usually up and away by 6 and her mom by 7. I like being the first one up... the peace is welcome, as is first dibs on the coffee.

So another Christmas notch on the belt... getting quite a few of those. You know, honestly, I've grown to dread Christmas over the years... always seems to bring with it pain and loneliness that no song, no decoration or no gift can overcome. I've come to dread the commercialism of the whole ordeal. I've come to dread the sense of loss felt when loved ones aren't by your side. Christmas is filled with more ghosts for me than any other time of the year. Things which should bring happiness instead often remind me of less happy times and places. Ghosts... that's a good way to put it. I hate the ghosts Christmas brings with it. Ghosts of individuals who have passed on, ghosts of places left behind, ghosts of love lost, of sorrow found, and of the way things were. Oh how the ghosts do come out when the jingle bells ring.

But this year isn't the same. This year I have Katy. Sure, the ghosts are still there, but for once I have a future that is more hopeful than my past is painful. I have the beginnings of my own family now and can look forward to our life together instead of looking back on my life alone. This year I have hope. It's the most wonderful Christmas present I could have possibly asked for.

Merry Christmas to all of you, my friends and family. I wish you all a new year of fulfilled hopes, answered prayers, joy, wonder, and happiness. May we all find comfort and safety in our loved ones as we go through these rough times. May we open our minds and our hearts to new ideas in this new and ever-changing age but may we never forget the values and the lessons of our past which we worked so hard to survive. May we know forgiveness, kindness, tolerance, temperance, and mercy like we've never known them before. May you sleep and wake safely beneath the watch of angels. I love you all, each and every one in your own particular way.

Michael

A visit to Ottawa...

Happy holidays everyone! Katy and I flew to Toronto last week to spend the holidays with her family and I finally find myself with time to sit and write. It's been a good week. I got to go to Ottawa for the weekend and visit the Micals and some friends from school. Peter, Nicholas, and (to a lesser degree) Steven were adorable, as always. Peter is now 4, Nicholas is 10 and Steven will be 15 on Christmas. Fifteen!!! He was Nicholas' age when I met him! My how time flies. They're all doing great, and we had a fantastic time visiting. I also got to see several friends at school and was lucky enough to roll into town for their Christmas party. I took a train back to Toronto last night and am now relaxing before getting into the Christmas week! I still need to get Christmas cards in the mail (bad Parker) and hope to do so today. I only did a handful but I drew them, myself so I hope it's excusable that they're late. I'm excited for Christmas this year... I wish I could see my own family but I'm really glad to have Katy's family to be with instead. Hopefully next year will be Christmas in the States. No promises though, anyone. Ok, I'll leave you with a couple of videos of Peter (who else?)... I especially love the second one. He wanted to play a song with me so we did. Hope you're all enjoying a wonderful Christmas season with friends and family. No recession can take our family from us... at least we have that.

Merry Christmas!!!

Update on the way out the door...

Morning everyone,

Well, Katy finished her final paper and final studio crit this past week so we spent our weekend attempting to do as little as possible. Good news: we succeeded! We caught up on a bit of cleaning and put our Christmas decorations up (yay!) but didn't do a whole lot past that. The weather has been rainy and blah but it looks like they've taken away the chance of rain for today so I get to be dry at work (hurrah!). Work, by the way, has gotten much better this past week. I've been framing for 3 weeks now and my body is finally use to it, for one. I came home for the first two weeks just miserabley sore and tired. I don't think I was awake once past 9pm. Also, while I was working the first week for the framing subcontracter, the developer (boss) noticed me and invited me to stay on working for him once my time was done with the framer. For the first two weeks I was holding and cutting and fetching for the framer but the past week I have been largely working alone. The boss walks around the mostly-framed building and points out jobs that ned done then I spend my day doing them. I think today I'm going to have to move a window opening and cover the old one up, build a wall in a bathroom, and maybe build a couple small flights or stairs. Fun stuff. It's still demanding work but I'm getting used to it. It's still going to get colder and wetter, but for now I'm satisfied being where I am. I'm learning SO much. When I am done with this I will have a deeper understanding of how wood frame residential houses are built. I'm hoping to market that along with my site experience and find a real good job. Speaking of real good jobs, I need to get out the door to mine. But first, a moment of thanks.

I've been wanting about this for a couple of weeks now but I think about it at work and am so tired that I forget when I come home. Right now I have a job because someone noticed I am a hard worker and I'm respectful. I am not working right now because of any university degree, I'm working right now because of things my Dad taught me... how to hit a nail square in the head, how to use a circular saw, and how to say, "yes sir." I think about that alot as I'm building... and I owe my father a great deal of gratitude for it. My master's degree will pay off later down the road and will take me far in its own time, but right now I'm making it on skills my dad taught me. Thanks, pops.

Ok, gotta get to work. Have a great week, everyone.