Milt...you know what this means? We are the "old timers" now...:rolleyes:

As a old timer myself, I dont want or need a thing for Christmas. But I'll get something. My two daughters and hubbies will be with us, plus 2 grandkids, a fire in the fireplace, a nice glass of wine, (make that a nice bunch of wine), meal served up by my girlfriend/wife (36 yrs), and trying again to convince my son in law that the last election was a fake. Oh well, you cant go home again, but you can be happy today.

In the sauce already and heading to the second party! Wife is driving.

Of course it doesn't help that I'm stuck here at work and many of you are already getting juiced!

:p

Working Friday-Saturday too.

Yeah, but I don't have any stories that are interesting to others. Especially the younger set. I just sit and listen to their selfish lives. Or is that lies? ;)

only thing on my end is that this is our first christmas outside of ohio.......so no snow, no driving in a blizzard to go to the parents houses......hell i wore shorts to work today and it was 80f :D
i'll get used to it but it just doesn't feel like christmas, it feels like may......

25 years ago to the day, I was starting yet another afternoon in a narcotic haze, and just building on that as the evening progressed. The last thing I remember was taking two doridens around midnight (to go on top of the rest of the cornucopia I'd consumed).

Short story is I missed xmas 1983. Came to on the couch, tried to get up and walk but just fell over, crawled to the clock to try and figure out what time it was. My on-again, off-again heroin addict roomate came out of his room and said, "oh good, you're alive. We had to prop you up because you weren't breathing so well."

I hate the holidays for a lot of reasons, but I try not to complain these days. And in fact, I figure that tomorrow will be the best one yet, no matter who I'm with or what I'm doing. I've seen worse. Well, maybe "see" is the wrong verb...

I hate the commercial side of Christmas. But nobody forces me to participate in that. My wife does the shopping. Also, I am a patriarch enough that I set the tone at home and keep the spending within reason. This is especially true if I compare us to the other American families in the same socioeconomic group.

What counts for me: The Christmas tree hunt to the woods, baking cookies, arts and crafts projects with the kids and a special meal on Christmas day. I get a lot of fun in fantasizing about Santa Claus and how it all goes down when he comes visits. I still try to convince my daughter that Santa likes beer better than milk. Like others have said, with young children, Christmas is a lot of fun. The presents and commercial Christmas play a very small role in it.

If I were a single man, I would see that I get out of the house and volunteer in a shelter or soup kitchen to put things in perspective. If I would not do that, I'd slip away for the holidays on a camping trip trip to the great California outdoors. ;)

George

Took my daughter out shopping this afternoon. She been bugging me about Libby Lu. The mall was almost empty not a creature was stirring not even a mouse.

We were the only customer at the Libby Lu store and in the past when the economy was good and I was pulling in a six figure salary I would let my daughter pick out anything she wanted at the Toy R Us. Lucky for me she was only 3 or 4 and only wanted simple toys.

Today I let her have anything in the store as long as it was from the 50% off shelves or racks. How time has change. Lucky for me she only wanted a make-up case with play make-up.

Merry Christmas to all the people that I had the pleasure to exchange words with and to all the people that I might had pi$$ off.

I love Christmas!

I especially like Christmas Eve....everyone drives fast (only a few more hours left).

Remembering your posts from 2002, I think you took a few years to come down.... ;) :D

I"m with Shaun on this, never in my life been broker, but working my ass off, with good things to come.. I'm alone this year sort of by choice , just saw my kids and brother at TG and with two suicides in the family ( for those of you who have read my previous post a couple months ago).. Just got in from making some turns and 30 plus inches of snow forcast for tonight, I'm happy doing a skiing christmas. As for Scott's lament about no lady in his life,, I'm loving being single sure beats being with the wrong one during the holidays... Life is good...

In some things I'm a quick study. In others...well, let's just say that I require remedial courses.

Scott,
Sorry you are feeling bad about things right now. I get pretty crabby this time of year because of the commercialization of the reason we celebrate Christmas. Work is stressful for our industry now as well but.......


We went to my MIL's tonight for dinner and socializing. I'm not the biggest fan of my MIL for various reasons but I know it's important to her and my wife to be"jolly" so I do my best. I did have a good time and even my brother-in-law who has had a pretty tense relationship with my in-laws got along with them.


I don't "need" anything of any importance right now. Yes, gifts are nice and I will use my new wallet but I have all I need in my wife and kids. We have a decent house, the cars are paid for, and I still have a job for the foreseeable future. I am grateful for those things.

The excitement felt by my kids Christmas morning will warm my heart and my wife will be happy. Things could be worse by far.

Hang in there, my friend. Be grateful for what you have not for what you don't have.

It's becauser you ain't got no snow!!!!
Oh yeah - who's laughing now Mr. "We have this yucky wet stuff...." ??:D

Of course I'm just kidding around. I'll post pics of the 5 foot snow banks lining my entire sidewalk and driveway - that'll cheer you up.

Other than that, you have the right idea - focus on the things that are good. Sounds like you are financially secure and while that isn't everything, it's pretty damn good. It certainly makes it easier to move forward in the areas you feel are lacking.

Or...compare yourself to the less fortunate. I watched my neighbor load all his possessions in a U-haul the other day. Apparently another victim of foreclosure. Pretty damn sad watching he, his wife, and 3 kids leave their home behind 2 days before Christmas.

Haven't been a fan of Xmas for the last 2 decades. Now it's more hassle than anything else.

I'm just tired of christmas, christmas, christmas being thrown in my face when I don't personally celebrate the holiday. Also I'm not a big fan of the religious aspect. Sure, I still swap presents with my family and all, but it ends there.

I'm going to start a new holiday where we eat great food, stay with our families, and swap presents, and it will be on January 7th, so we can take advantage of the post-holiday sales.

I come from a family of bitter, sarcastic misanthropes.

Just add booze, and the holidays are a blast!

I'm not into Christmas this year. I got about half of my family gifts and that was like pulling teeth. I went out shopping one morning this week for about 2 hours, and that was enough. I just don't care for that aspect of it. I love giving, but the crowds are unbearable.

That's the other thing about being an old timer...you have the experience and maturity to know more than a few thing. But the younger set doesn't want to hear about it.

I listen.

My step mothers dad is 85. He stormed the beach at Normandy. He got blown up by a landmine and sent home. He spent 50 years raising his family, was elected mayor of his town, taught in the public schools.

Today, he's still a ski racer! And this year he got one of the first deer at deer camp.

I listen to him more than his own kids.:( The man has lived a life. I listen.

His description of allied bombs dropping on the Germans.....amazing. He said the earth would literally roll like an earthquake as the shockwaves rolled past them. He said it would go on for days, and that they would pray for the Germans because they knew the devastation that was being laid on them.