Cheerished Christmas

Jonanthan, Tom, Josh, Tim, Michael, Dave, and Me -
Can you believe they let this questionable looking crew
work together?

It's Christmas Day and I have finally found a few minutes to drift back to the keyboard in order to update the blog. In the past month I have hosted my parents in Asia, where we journeyed to Phuket, Thailand; Hanoi, Vietnam; Singapore; and then finally wrapping up in Hong Kong. It was pure magic showing my parents these very unique and special places. Even though I had been to all of these destinations before, they seemed to take on a new appeal as I watched my parents discover them for the first time.

Now, I am in th midst of my Christmas Vacation back in the States, and it could not have come any sooner. I have felt the fatigue in my bones from work lately and desparately tried to keep my eyes on the waiting horizon which held for me my treasured vacation. Putting work on the shelf for an extended period of time is important and all together healthy I beleive. It has felt refreshing to not look or respond to email or have the phone in my ear... unless of course it has been to reconnect with old friends.

As the photo above proves, I have been able to meet some old friends and catch up on their lives. Jonathan, seated in the bottom left row in the photo, was responsible for pulling together a special Christmas Lunch for a few of us friends who had all originally worked in the same group together. Even though we don't always have the benefit of seeing each other on a regular basis, it was amazing how quickly we could start making fun of each other and lowering the bar of intellect in a manner of only minutes. Many in the group had stories of new arrivals (babies). I am not sure what is in the water back home in Oregon, but it sure seemed like a lot of my friends just had or were soon to have new kids.

I won't drudge on with any great detail from here on. Just know that I am enjoying my Christmas Holiday in the best way possible, which is by celebrating it with close family and friends. I hope all of you are cheerishing this special time of year in your own and unique ways. I am thinking of all of you and wishing you only the best in the upcoming year.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!