Happy Holidays

Welcome to Holiday Season 2007! We've eaten our way through Thanksgiving, fought our way through Black Friday, and now we're heading full speed into Christmas (or Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, insert your holiday here...) As a tot I used to look forward to discovering the massive amount of gifts under the tree, shredding through the wrapping paper and unboxing my newest toy to entertain me for the next 6 minutes. My brother and I would always fight over who got the train set or the Star Wars toys. As we got older we realized that Santa was just a fat guy in a red suit, and our expectations should be put to rest with the Easter Bunny and the tooth fairy. When we had finally outgrown the overwhelming gift phase and simply looked forward to the stocking stuffers and some home cooked food, my younger sister came along sent us into a gift wrapping tailspin all over again. My brother and I are both now in our 30's. My sister is fully entrenched in High School and has grown out of the Malibu Barbie phase herself. As I'm contemplating a new job in a new city, I've taken some time to reflect on what the Holidays really mean to me...

It didn't take me too much time to figure out what the Holidays mean. It simply comes down to one word, FAMILY. I was raised in a very strong household, and owe pretty much everything to my mother, father, sister and brother. They've always been there to lend an ear, to give support, and to celebrate every momentous occasion in our lives. Through our happy times and our sad times, we've been able to speak openly and honestly, and have been a fantastic resource for each other. I can see a big part of each family member inside of me, and I think I can see a part of me in each of them.

As the biggest of all Holidays comes rolling through December, you can take away the caroling, the decorated trees, the blinking lights and (dare I say) "A Christmas Story." You can return all the gifts and cut up the credit cards. None of these things mean anything to me. Christmas is only about one thing, and it's the thing I look forward to the most after 12 months of grueling weather and work. Christmas is about family, and more specifically my family.

Today, I got together with my folks to pick out the Christmas Tree. We all bundled up with our gloves and hats, grabbed a freshly sharpened camp saw, and headed off into the bush to find our tree. Our species of choice, the Colorado Blue Spruce, proved to be as elusive as ever. But after an hour of searching up and down the 20+ acres of trees we located our super spruce, cut it down, and triumphantly carried it back to the sugar shack. This annual ritual usually comes at an inopportune time, like, say, the day after Thanksgiving. But it's a couple hours spent with my family that I wouldn't dare give away.

I urge you to take some time and figure out what the holidays mean to you. I know that where ever my new job takes, whatever far away state and town I end up in, I'll always want to be back home during the holidays. 'Cause, they just wouldn't be the same without my family. Happy Holidays!

BEN