It's true what they say - Our lives come round full circle, and as we get older we approach our childhood. Along with all of the ugly and obvious aspects (incontinence, toothless gums, listening to crappy music) there are some other symptoms. Christmas Day, for instance, finds my parents (who, just to be precise, are both fully in control of their faculties and can still chew bubble gum) awake and alert at the wee hours of the morning, with their children snug in beds quite happy to postpone the unwrapping of presents and general holly-jolly in exchange for another sleep cycle (which, if the past few were any indicator, will feature Liv Tyler wearing pointy ears and not much else).

I haven't really gotten the hang of these new adult Christmases yet. When I was a young'un, Christmas was all about the presents. These days, I really want for nothing (or very little, the lacking element I may get to later in this missive) - the confluence of two facts (that I have a fairly serious job, and am completely lacking in any willpower whatsoever) has made it so that I own just about everything I want (and thinking about it - I'm using them all at this very moment. My phone is ringing, I'm listening to my iPod, typing on my laptop, and wearing my new Lebron James Nikes) (All of that was true, except the phone ringing and the bit about the Nikes. But you get the point). My brother and sister-in-law are both very successful doctors, and both of them have even less willpower than I (remind me one day to talk a but about my sister-in-law's relationship with QVC. It's an abusive one, but to be honest, I'm not sure who is abusing whom).

These days I guess it's all about the real meaning of Christmas, which is pretty cool, I guess. It remains an incredibly important time of year - for the past two years, it's the only time I've been able to see my brother, who lives in Savannah. Who I like (i like him a lot, actually. I was the quinessential younger brother when we were growing up, and had a serious case of hero-worship. Since we were living in such close proximity, I was able to study his personality, and model my own after it. Which is why I still like him so much [since now he reminds me of this really funny guy I know], and is also why I'm such a freaking nerd. I didn't realize it at the time, but Bill wasn't the most popular boy at his lunch table when I was doing my research). Christmas is just about the only time the nuclear family get together, which is sad, but makes these times all the more special. Note to self: remember how special this weekend is when you look around on the afternoon of the 25th to see the women in the kitchen kvetching about the boys in the living room, who are all on their laptops waiting for the Xbox to boot up.

I'm actually psyched about that, since this will mark the first Christmas where the number of computers in the house will exactly match the number of family members. If my dad can learn to play Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear fast enough, this might be the best Christmas ever.

A non-holiday related aside: I went to something of a high-school reunion (non-official, but all the more fun because of it) last night. Wanted to apologize to everyone there (who I was really really psyched to see. Ended up having a far better time than I thought I was going to), since I realized at work this morning that I had left without saying goodbye to anyone. I offer the fact that I remembered through the painful haze of a hangover (making today easily the most miserable day I've ever had at the office) as an excuse. Or at least a consolation.

Yeah. I'm writing this entry in the middle of Dulles airport, in Washington DC. My plane was delayed for two hours, and so we'll be passing over into Christmas Day about half an hour after take off. I mention it (not surprisingly) as a segue into a complaint. It's SUCH BULLSHIT that there's no Airports in the airport. I'm going to have to wait until I get to Savannah to upload this entry. Disaster.

That's it. I'm going to listen to an Elvis Christmas to while away the hours until I head out. Merry Christmas to everyone who reads this. I wish you all nothing but the best (even those of you towards whom I sometimes harbor jealously, resentment, and spite). Huge.