Of Holidays and Things Hidden

I'm back at work now, after being off for Christmas. For me, the holiday started on Friday with a visit from my sister and brother-in-law. We celebrated the Winter Solstice then, with two big pots of chili and some gift giving before they had to head back home. They absolutely floored us with their gift to us. His entire collection of Magic the Gathering cards. He doesn't play any more and we do, sporadically, so there you go. Never mind the fact that his stuff is all over 4 years old and worth quite a bit. Needless to say, I was speechless. First time for everything, I guess.

Saturday (the actual day of the Solstice) was spent driving to Atlanta for our Christmas visit with my wife's family. Aside from some normal pre-trip bickering, it went pretty well. Saturday night we wrapped some presents and talked with her family for a bit. Her sister is pregnant, so there there was the usual ooohing and aaahing over her extended tummy. Nothing out of the ordinary there. Then her parents gave us an early Christmas present. Tickets for the Sunday show at Medieval Times! Coolness! What is it with people giving us extraordinary gifts this year?

Sunday morning we went to church with her parents. Out of respect, I try to grit my teeth and deal with such burdens as well as I can manage. Fortunately, the trip was shorter than normal (no Sunday School) due to the Holidays. We went out to eat and then back to the parents' house for a nap (!) and more present wrapping. Evening rolled around and my wife and I were off to the show. Yes, folks, we actually had a night out without worrying about the kids! Amazing.

Medieval Times is an interesting experience for those of us who do historical re-enactment ourselves. On the one hand, it's right up our alley and on the other it's just really, really commercialized, hokey, cheesy and silly. Still, we bought some fairly nice souvenirs, the food was good and some of the props they used made me envious (especially the black and white fleur de lis banners). All in all, a nice evening getaway.

Christmas Eve rolled around and the present-wrapping finally got done. Her family decided that we were going to do the big Christmas meal that night so that her sister and brother-in-law could join us. Also because we had to drive back home on Christmas Day. One thing I'll say about my Mother-in-Law, she can certainly cook. I ate far too much and didn't really care. Of course, the quality of the food was balanced by the fact that my wife's mother treats just about every meal like a formal occasion. Even breakfast. Maybe that's just because we were guests, but it really makes one feel self-conscious. I'm used to eating on the couch or in the car half the time. Still, I'm willing to put up with a lot for a good meal, so it wasn't that big a deal to play along.

Christmas Day dawned cloudy and wet, but inside the house all was bright and cheerful. We did the annual ritual of opening our swag, of which there was much. I ended up with a couple of DVD's, a lot of Magic cards/cases/card sleeves, a sweater, a self-adjusting crescent wrench*, and a really nice lap desk for use with our laptop. Not a bad haul. After we finished with the frenzy of unwrapping all the stuff we'd taken such pains to wrap in the first place, we loaded up, said our good-byes and headed home. The trip back was uneventful. Nothing to see there. Move along.

Now that I'm (reluctantly) back at work, I've had a chance to think about a couple of things from the holiday happenings. 1) we have some really good people in our lives and 2) as my good friend Jack over at Thirteen Letters has pointed out, sometimes there is a "lack of depth to my inner life" and "everything is surface". My wife informed me before we left on our trip that her parents "wanted to get to know me better", since I was married to their daughter and all. A reasonable thing, that. But I'm afraid it would prove harder than it may seem. To truly know a person is to know the depths of their inner life, as it were. For some, those deep places are open and accessible, filled with bridges built from good memories, supportive relationships and bright, shiny pasts. For others... not so much. For those of us who have undergone far less than pleasant experiences, the surface is all that we are able to offer up for inspection. At least to all but a select few. Even then, it can be hard to let certain aspects of ourselves show. So, did her parents come to know me better? Perhaps my surface, yes. But I'm afraid the depths must remain hidden. Which is kind of a shame, because there may be some really worthwhile things lurking down there that will never see the light of day.

Hope everyone had a great holiday. At least on the surface.

*as seen on tv.