Wow, has it been two weeks

Hey all,

Welcome back to Monday's and work.

For me it is a little back to reality. A little back to my comfort zone.

I wake up early and go to something I know, to a place I know.

I know what I am going to do that day. I usually know who I am going to be with that day.

Very unlike what I did for the last two weeks.
Last time we talked, I was sick as a dog.

Well I gutted out the last three days of work. I was wearing a mask for three days...you know when you can hear and feel your breath and you are fogging up and your back is sweating.

Man did it suck. I was miserable.

So Friday, Saturday and Sunday I literally sat on the couch and in my bed.

On Sunday my son woke up sick so the two of us went to the Minute Clinic. This is a little clinic in our local grocery store run by the local hospital and a PA or a RN mans it.

Well she deemed me just having a virus and because I was feeling stuffy and generally crappy, she recommended some over the counter meds and something called the Medi-Pot.

Anyone seen this?

Well it is basically a plastic tea kettle that you put in the medicated salt pack and warm water. Now what you are suppose to do with this thing is you put the spout in one nostril and then tilt it up. It is suppose to go in one nostril and right out the other while depositing the medicine that is suppose to break up all your mucous.

The nurse pitched this to me telling me that "Oprah says she loves it."

Now you know I was feeling really crappy when I couldn't wait to get home to do this.

Filled up the little tea pot and poured it into my nose. I have to say that it did exactly what it said it was suppose to do (except for the stuff coming in in the back of my throat...nasty).

I only did it once because what the nurse also recommended was Mucinex and that stuff really works.

So by Tuesday, I was feeling well enough to go outside. Not totally better but well enough to get out of the house.

Now if you are counting that is 6 days of sickness. I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

But now we are talking two days to Christmas and I needed to get out. I willed myself out the door. I wanted to by my wife one more gift so I took the kids and off we went to Bed, Bath and Beyond.

This is all I did for the first 5 days of vacation....one trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Wednesday was Christmas Eve. Let me tell you about our Christmas Eve....

Italians do it up right. We have a tradition called the Seven Fishes.

I don't know where this came from or what it means but I know that on Christmas Eve we do fish.

My dad and the rest of the local mafia stand in line at the local fish store at 6am to get fresh fish. It is like a mob scene, literally. You are in the store and you hear alot of Italian being spoken and alot of "fugetaboutit".

But at about 10am my father starts cooking and he doesn't stop until we sit down at about 5pm.

First is conch. Then, fried shrimp, scallops, oysters Rockefeller, then there is usually regular old fish, like this year was Sea Bass, and the main course is linguine with a clam sauce (I know that is only six but I must have forgotten one).

It is a great night that I look forward to every year. It is a family tradition to invite people that you know that may not have "family" around. So we always have our family and their friends.

We talk about "old" times and try to start new ones with the kids.

Okay, so it is the whole thing. Wine, the kids table, eating, dessert, stories.

Part of our night is sitting in a big circle and teaming up to play Taboo.

Our family loves this game. My mother is hilarious, my wife and brother are phenomenal.

Like, "This is a thing on your body..." and the other person says, "Belly button". How do they do this?

A good time had by everyone.

Then my family goes home and opens up the only present they are allowed to open.

Every year it is their Christmas pajamas. This is a photo of them under the tree with their new PJ's.

I will tell you all about Christmas Wednesday. I have one word to tell you...Wii.

OMGosh has it revolutionized our house. We don't have to parent anymore. The machine does it for us.

We could go out to dinner and return and the kids would still be in the same stop.

I will talk to you Wednesday,

I am glad you are back,

john