Mele Kalikimaka

Normally, I post on Christmas Eve after all the preparations for the arrival of our Saviour (and Santa) have been completed and the house has quieted down and I can contemplate the blessings that have been bestowed upon me in the year just passed. However, this year I plan to be spending Christmas Eve enjoying a pina colada under a swaying palm tree by a gorgeous ocean surrounded by most of my equally festively-inclined family. Yep - we're going to Hawaii for Christmas. Don't get me wrong - I still plan on contemplating all those blessings. I'm just going to be doing it in 80 degree temperatures and with tropical drinks!

To say that this has been a difficult year is quite the understatement. I am torn between wanting 2011 to end so badly and yet fearing that 2012 will bring worse. The loss of Bonnie, of Ken, of Gubby, of Uncle Eddy and the realization that my cancer continues to progress took a bit of a toll on my ability to stay positive, to feel optimistic, to want to keep fighting. But then I have a moment when I sit and giggle with Taryn ("Kill, Bang, Marry!"); when Addison dances to "Moves Like Jagger;" when I help Ian choose a gift for his girlfriend; when Warren shouts at the TV during a football game (which he does for my sake - we all know he's not a sports nut); when Emily asks my advice on a work issue; when Bruce makes an unfunny joke that just cracks him up; when Lisa and the boys decide to come to Hawaii with us; when life just keeps happening and happening and happening, well, then really...what's not to feel good about?

We are going to Hawaii both as a chance to celebrate the season and also as a tribute to those that left us this year. My mother, Ken, and Gubby all loved to travel and it seemed fitting to finally take the trip we (Lisa and I) have been talking about for years rather than postponing it one more time. Because when you get right down to it, it's today that matters, it's family that matters, it's faith that matters. Hawaii, for us, is the embodiment of all of that this year.

So Christmas Eve may be happening in a different place for us this year but the reasons we celebrate it won't be different. We will be grateful for the birth of God's only Son. We will eagerly anticipate Christmas morning and the opening of presents. We will enjoy a hearty meal together (pigs and pineapple - yum!). We will share stories and memories and hugs and laughter and tears and joy with those that matter most to us. We will remember those we will always love and hold close in our hearts. And you damn well better believe we will do all of this with our hands firmly around our Bikini Martinis!!

Merry Christmas - Mele Kalikimaka - Blessings and Love to All.