Ho ho hold on tight!

We've survived another Christmas! Actually, this one was less stressful in many ways than years previous. Maybe it's because there were so many life-altering events in the past 12 months that Christmas pales in comparison. Or maybe it's because we have a 3-year-old for whom Christmas is very "magical", and I got to re-direct my usual holiday angst toward making his experience a good one (which it was). Or maybe it's just the meds...

In any case, we are having a good time in California amongst Dennis's family (and my in-laws, as I can now say that LEGALLY). Koby got the Fisher Price digital camera for kids--apparently the hottest toy of the season, unbeknownst to me as I tried to purchase one in December. HA!



Anyway, we managed to get one through the foster care underground railroad, and he is thrilled. Other gifts of note include steering wheels, lots of CARS THE MOVIE stuff, and DVDs (Dora, Bob the Builder). Oh what fun, it is to... be a kid with a ton of doting relatives and friends.

Every Christmas Day I reflect on my previous time in Asia, and how (before I met Dennis) Christmas was generally not such a big deal. In Japan we had the Bo-nen-kai (forget-the-year parties, which sailed us into stupefication on a sea of alcohol and hot-pot dishes), and in Korea I had my share of parties with the students I taught. But one Christmas in Asia sticks out for me: 1994--the one I spent in Vietnam with my friend and roommate Brian Clark.

In one of the last bastions of Communism, Hanoi, we went to a local disco for a Christmas party. It was incredible. There were games, dancing, and booze. And all I really remember is dancing with uniformed police officers and watching a very Vietnamese-looking Kris Kringle throw goodies out to the crowd. He was dressed in black boots, a red bathrobe with white trim--a kind of hoodie, I think--and wearing a Ho Chi Minh-looking mask. He'll forever be known to me as Ho Ho Ho Chi Minh Santa.

Ah, how life has changed. So here's hoping that everyone had a great holiday, whatever you celebrate, and to a happy and healthy 2007.