merry christmas eve...eve

there are so many people who are grieving this christmas, and my thoughts and prayers go to them...families and friends of those killed or injured in the horrible attack in mosul, iraq...many of those soldiers are from ft. lewis here in washington state...the family of the woman murdered in missouri...any family or friend of someone who has been killed, injured, or is missing...people who are newly divorced, separated, or have lost a child through death or divorce or custody battle or just estrangement, as is my case with my daughter (her choice)...anyone out there who feels alone, whether they are actually alone or are in a room filled with people and still feel alone...this is a devestatingly difficult time of year, because i am one of you...i am choosing this year to be thankful for what i have and who is in my life, rather than wish for things or people or relationships that aren't in my life...yes, i am tired and my christmas break is only 3 days, but thankfully i have 2 jobs!!!!...yes, i have to wash my clothes in my bathtub, hang them up on the shower curtain to dry, and then over the heater to finish drying, but thankfully i have clothes and a place to live...we don't really have food in our cupboards right now, but m. has spent some of his own money to buy a little food for us to have...the heater on my car is not currently working and i have no money for getting it fixed, but thankfully i have a car, the weather isn't as bad as it could be, and i live in an area with public transportation that is almost always available...my daughter is choosing not to be in my life at this time, but there is always hope as long as we are both alive...

well, i am not sure where that all came from...

so...tomorrow is christmas eve...today is the first day of my christmas break...i get today, tomorrow, and new year's eve off...saw the movie "the incredibles" yesterday, and it is really fun...i recommend it, and i am very particular about movies, so you can trust that it is a good movie...m. and i have just been hanging around here, i have done some housework and i think we are going to grab the basketball from his trunk and go shoot some hoops down at oak park...it is about 29 degrees but it is sunny and really beautiful outside...tomorrow we will go to church, then mom and dad are having a sort of "christmas eve housewarming" for their new home...m. and i will be there, k. said she might go for a while, l. and f. and some of their kids, m. and r. and some of their kids, and of course, mom and dad...my parents have 3 children, myself, my older sister l. and my younger brother, m...l and her husband f have 6 kids ranging in ages from 25 to 10, m. and his wife r. have 7 kids ranging from 16 to 3, and with my ex-husband l. i have 2 kids...so mom and dad have 15 grandchildren of these approximate ages: 25, 23, 19, 17, 12, 10, those are my sister's...then 16, 14, 13, 10, 7,5, 3, my brother's kids...and mine are 19 and 16...8 girls and 7 boys...4 are high school grads, 1 will graduate from phs this year, 2 will graduate next year...at least 3 are in middle school, and the rest are in elementary or pre school...wow...i guess this goes in the "too much information" category...sorry...

so the washington governor race continues...christine gregoire is currently in the lead...although i voted for dino rossi, i will completely support whoever has been legally elected and actually becomes governor...

i'll write again later...