¡Feliz Navidad!

Merry Christmas to all my readers, faithful or otherwise. Merry Christmas to those of you who stumble upon this by googling things like "show me the carcus" or "yiddish chochkie". Merry Christmas even to those people who complain about this blog, talk about me behind my back, or just plain don't like me. Christmas is a time of happiness, glad tidings, and love for our fellow man, so let this be my example.

It's Christmas Eve, and I find myself reminiscing of Christmas Eves of yore. Here in Beaverton, in Southern California, in Ohio, Michigan, Cancun. Even if I try really hard I cannot recall one that was horrific (although there have been some really whacked out ones here, let me tell you. Surely our family is not the only one into which Satan's offspring has married... surely?). I have had single Eves and coupled Eves and family Eves, Eves where I was drunk off Jello shots and wandered home the long way, Eves where I went to bed wondering if the bullets shot into the midnight sky would ultimately land in my apartment. Snowy Eves and rainy Eves and warmer-than-normal Eves and downright muggy Eves. Eves where I am happy, Eves where I am sad, and Eves where I am just content. And of course, Eves where I am feeling a little bit lost.

So on this night of nights, let me make a Christmas wish. I wish for happiness for my friends - not the general kind of happiness that everyone wishes, but for true downright happiness. The kind of happiness you get when you realize you are worthy of it, when you open yourself up to receive it, when you know you really deserve it and it's finally time to have it.

I wish them success, the real success that isn't just about money. The kind of success that affects everyone around you. The kind of success that puts a smile on your face just as you are falling off to sleep.

And contentment. I wish for my friends, so many who, like me, struggle with their daily lives and the decisions involved and the attempts to do the right thing, a contentment within. The feeling of being settled and at peace and calm.

Is it okay to wish that for myself? If it is, then I do.

To all my friends who are there for me year in and year out, whether I talk to you daily or only once a year, remember you are always in my memory and somewhere in my heart, and because we are nothing without our memories, you will be with me until there is nothing left of me. Merry Christmas!