You Had Me at Holidays... Mr. CB

This is it, folks, the final post in the You Had Me at Holidays guest posting event! And of course, we're going out with a bang... with a post from none other than Mr. CB himself: Sean! You hear me talk about him all the time, so now it's his turn to speak up and share with you. One of the things I love most about Sean is the importance he puts on preserving memories and reliving them often. His family has plenty memories and traditions to share, and I love to hear about them. Without further ado, and no shame whatsoever, here's Sean with "How I came to loathe triangles…An embarrassing Christmas video."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

During the holiday season, I think many people prefer to surround themselves with the positive memories that they have collected over the years and that they associate with warmth and family. I am no different, and I have so many happy memories of Christmas from which to choose.

I found many such memories by looking at old photo albums. There are photos of family putting up Christmas decorations, catching snowflakes, sitting by warm fires, spending time with each other, and watching delighted faces tearing wrapping paper to shreds. Here are just a few of my recent favorites:

However, I think any Christmas story must take the good with the bad, the magical with the mundane, the delightful with the truly embarrassing. This is why my story today is about how I came to loathe triangles.

It was in this giving and humorous spirit that I wanted to share this brief video clip, which was captured from my uncle Ed’s video camera on Christmas Eve many years ago. I think I was 9 years old at the time.

In the video you can see, from left to right, my older brother Derek, my cousins Erin and Monica, and myself on the right, the one with the triangle.

Now a little background…Every Christmas Eve, my parents, brother, aunt and uncle, and cousins would gather in my grandparents’ basement to celebrate the holiday. We would eat a decadent dinner with turkey, mashed potatoes, fruit jello, warm rolls, and on and on. As children, we would bounce off the walls waiting for the opportunity to open presents while our parents took their time eating, which according to them would wait until “after we wash the dishes” or “after we drive around looking at Christmas lights.” The kids killed time by making forts out of gift boxes or sorting packages by size, shape, smell, or whether the box looked like it contained clothing (those were the least popular).

And of course, we sang Christmas carols.

As a boy, I thought of myself as having a decent singing voice and some musical talent (I had an active imagination). Christmas carols were among my favorite songs to play and sing. To this day, I can listen to Christmas music from September to the end of the year and not become bored.

One Christmas I developed a nasty cold, leaving me unable to speak or sing or even say thank you for the gifts people gave me (It shows how innocent I was that this part bothered me so much). It was a sad Christmas for me, and it felt traumatic at the time that I wouldn’t be able to contribute to our annual Christmas caroling. After some discussion my brother found the perfect role for me, though I didn’t feel that way at the time (judging by the look on my face in the video).

It’s more traumatic now to watch it, but at least I can laugh. This is my exposure therapy and my gift to you. For all of you triangle players, I apologize.

Thinking back, we all have moments of celebration that we wish weren’t captured on film. Without this video of me and my triangle, though, my 9th Christmas would not have been so memorable. Hopefully, this one will make you smile.

Wishing you a memory card full of warm memories this Christmas!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for reading, everyone, and Merry Christmas! I'm going to take a few days off to spend time with family... but starting next Wednesday I've got some serious updates for you all! Happy Friday :)