The Holidays

New Year's Eve was a magical evening, the best of our marriage so far.  Well, at least as good as Christmas Eve.  I was fortunate to get both nights off this year, something I can't remember ever happening.  On Christmas Eve we went to my mom's house, where we opened presents and played my wife's first game of Monopoly.  Her luck was extremely poor, but she liked the game anyway.  It was a special time with my family because it was the first time I can ever remember Jason & Sarah having fun around us.  It's been many years since I've seen my brother so animated; it was nice to have him back, and to see a side of Sarah I hadn't known before. 

Christmas Eve night was the coziest in recent memory.  We tried on our new pajamas, which were comfortable beyond measure, and snuggled up with the new pillows my mom got us.  We lay in bed as the misty snow fell outside, outlined in the amber light of the windows across the way.  Seattle hadn't had a white Christmas in over 20 years, so it excited us immensely to be cuddling up for a long sleep knowing that we'd wake up to a city dressed in that purest of colors.  My wife is already crazy about snow, loving the color white and everything associated with it.  To round out the ambience, I had a 10-hour video playing on Youtube, of a wintry cabin in the deep isolation of some mountains.  There was a tall, ornate Christmas tree on display by the side of a festive fireplace, the sound of it crackling in the midst of all the candlelight.  In the dark background, outside the window, the falling snow evoked man's archetypal comfort of being provided the warmth of a fire in an inhospitable wilderness.  It transported us to a place outside of time, where perhaps our dreams that night would allow us to live the fantasy on screen according to our greatest Christmas desires. 

    New Year's Eve was special in many ways.  It started at the mall, where we got a Thomas Kincade calendar, a puzzle of his and also one by Christian Lassen, a Winnie the Pooh anthology, and a cute birthday card for mom.  In the card shop, I found one that made me burst out laughing.  It had a rushed drawing of an old woman, and it said, "So you're getting old, motherfucker?"  I showed my wife and it made her laugh too.  Then, quite unexpectedly, an old lady who appeared to be at least 80 sneaked up on us, asking, "So, have we had our laugh of the day?", as cheerfully as an old lady can say it.  This was right as I was putting the card back on the shelf.  There's no doubt in my mind that she read it after asking, just to see what the fuss was about.  "Uh, yeah", I replied, as nicely as I could.  It was so awkward that I had to scurry my wife out of the shop just to avoid an uncomfortable confrontation with the old dear.  

Our dinner date was reserved at Il Fornaio in downtown Seattle.  The food was fantastic.  We had a delicious pizza and a brownie cake with gelato for dessert.  The only hiccup was the $20 seafood antipasto, which came with an unfair amount of squid in proportion to the low amount of shrimp.  I ended up having my first taste of this infernal creature, suppressing a gag as my beloved ate tiny octopuses without remorse. 

Then we went on a crisp evening stroll up to the Space Needle, which was lit pink this year because the celebration was hosted by none other than T-Mobile, my annoying cell phone company.  I'd never been to the needle on new year's; I'd always stayed home and watched the fireworks on TV, or had to work.  My wife and I found a perfect spot to hold each other as we watched the needle ignite the sky with blossoms of color.  The experience was far more moving than I'd expected.  One thing is clear; watching fireworks on TV isn't nearly as intimate as seeing them in person, though I expect few things would ever affect one less when experienced in person as opposed to a distant medium. 

The night ended with a candle-lit scene of passion in bed.  No details!  2017 was a great year for both of us.  We intend on making 2018 just as special.  We came a long way, and grew a lot together this year.  I can only hope the new year will bring more of the same.