Getting ready to go to my sister's in Vegas for the holidays! Vegas, baby! Yeeaaahh! The tortoises are hibernating, the gun-toting housesitter is in place, and we're just scratching our heads wondering if the old 4Runner can handle the trip. We're checking the weather reports and there's a break in the storms today, so we're considering heading out early. There are a few mountain passes between here and Vegas, if you don't know, and last week they got all snowed, halting traffic. For the record, Las Vegas is not the sunshiney poolside holiday adventure you might think it is. Here's my sister's house just last week:


I wonder... are they're keeping the pool heated for our visit?

So perhaps we'll get a white one, which would be a nice first for me. There is some concern about the vehicle, with its 4 worn cylinders and leaky sunroof. The tires are verging on pattern baldness and the wagon will be weighed down with luggage, the wrapped goods, and our growing family -which barely fits in the car nowadays. Our plans last spring to have a successful business year capped off with a new SUV come Christmas were dashed when we, well, didn't have a successful business year. (Who knew?) Anyway, there's always room for another Hawkins Family Adventure. Bring the camera. The stories make future holidays all the more interesting in the retelling. (All the same: breaking down in the middle of the snowy high desert on Christmas Eve, my wife breast-feeding the crying infant behind the fogged windows of our beat-up Toyota, while I'm out in the inclement weather without a cel signal, trying to flag down a tow-truck... doesn't sound particularly charming.)

The Little Ditchman still doesn't understand such advanced concepts as "tomorrow" or "Thursday" -so you can understand her consternation at not being able to open the powerfully alluring presents sitting beneath the tree. She'll survive. Were a Christmas morning family, I have so decided, and patience is a learned value I hold dear. Also: excitement, anticipation, hope... Always have something to look forward to and you'll stay young. I learned it when I was done with college. One day, out of nowhere, my life lacked a "summer break" and I felt half my hair go gray right there at the thought of it. (I've found time for summer camp since then, however.)

Time for the bottle feed. Gotta go.


~