Christmas

So, I was able to get home for Christmas to be with my parents (and grandmother). Friday (Dec 23), I was just way too tired to drive home, and I would have been leaving at 1:00 pm at the earliest, really too late for a 7-hr drive. So I left Saturday morning at 5:30. I was still tired, but I was able to get more than two hours of sleep.

It was great to be able to be here with my parents, especially after hurricane Katrina. My father took me around Monday showing me all the destruction (still)around, and it truly is a miracle that my parents got essentially no damage. The water rose up all around them (150-200 ft away), but did not get into the house or vehicles. I'm so thankful that they're still around. Entire houses had been submerged, at least over the ceiling. A former neighbor lived in a raised house (raised an entire story), and he lost his steps into the house. For a while, they had to use a rope and ladder to get into the house. They have steps now, but wow!

The beach in Ocean Springs (we didn't even try Biloxi or Gulfport -- Hwy 90 just opened up last week (I think) in Biloxi, but it's only two lanes total rather than the four it used to be. Entire apartment complexes gone, houses demolished and completely wiped out, a foundation being the only sign that the house existed. One house was skewed about ten degrees from vertical, as though a storm surge smashed against the house (very likely). When I get back to Texas, perhaps I'll post some pictures (if they come out okay).

Back to Christmas...

Christmas is about Christ, period. And I see nothing wrong with giving gifts. They shouldn't be payback or "equal". They're given for the enjoyment of giving out of love and affection for the recipient. I don't care if I get any gifts for Christmas (or on any occasion, for that matter). But I love to give gifts (yes, I know, I'm selfish usually, but when I give gifts, I really enjoy it). My favorite Christmas times are when I can give great gifts. (And it's not the amount of money I spend.) This year, I was able to give my mother a DVD player so she can watch some of the DVDs I've given her in the past few years (she can't sit in the chair in the family room where previously lived the only DVD player in the house). I'm excited for her. My grandmother loves clothes, but she can't really go out any more, so it's extremely difficult to get her anything. I got the bright idea when walking through the 75%-off book store to get some audio books. (but they had sold out of the particular title I intended to get, so that was a problem). Of course now, her only problem is that she can't see well enough to operate the cassette player, and I'm not sure she could figure out a CD player at all, though it's possible it might be easier for her. And I gave my father one of my old DVD players for his bedroom (yes, my parents' sleep patterns interfere with each other).

So, all in all, it was quite nice.