Apparently everyone we know thought that this coming weekend (December 20th and 21st) would already be filled with holiday plans, so instead they scheduled their parties for this past Saturday, December 13th. We attended three, yes three, Christmas parties on Saturday evening.
First up was Century 21. John's co-workers there (although he is not doing much work at C21 these days with the upstart of his own real estate investment company, JMG Properties) are very nice and we had a fun, albeit quick, time catching up, munching on some yummy appetizers, and enjoying a delicious cocktail. Of course, with two other parties to attend (and an out of town guest, my dear old college roomie Amelia, joining us for the last two parties) we had to make a swift exit to go meet up with Amelia and continue our night of festivities.
After swinging back by the house to pick up our host/hostess gifts and the Christmas gift I got for Crystal (oh yeah, and Amelia!) we were off to Southampton for Crystal's party. The food there was delicious, the decorations were beautiful and the champagne was flowing...all wonderful things! But...we hardly knew anyone there! I find it very strange that I didn't know many people at my own best friend's party, but that's because most of the guests were Marty's (Crystal's husband) co-workers and army buddies. Regardless, we made the best of it by chatting it up with the people we did know (and a few we didn't) and kicking butt on the holiday trivia game that Crystal had organized (see - useless information always comes in handy at some point!). I am proud to say I got all the questions right (although I did get some help on a few of them)! But, we didn't have much time to celebrate the trivia victory, because we had to head to the third and final party of the night.
We were soon out the door and off to Enfield (CT) for Sean (John's cousin, who I also know from living in the same dorm and having the same major at UMASS) and his wife Missy's party. I think we arrived a little too late, because by the time we got there, everyone had enjoyed a few too many beverages, if you know what I mean. It was still nice to see some of John's family members...something that I wish we could do a little more. Unlike me, John actually has cousins that are close in age and close in lifestyle to us. It would be great to spend more time with them and develop a closer relationship. In my family, I really only have one cousin that I can relate to. The rest are either in jail, on drugs or staying as far away from our crazy family as possible! OK, OK, maybe I am exaggerating a little, but I don't have a lot of family that I could be all that close with. But, I digress... Sean and Missy's party was...interesting. Like I said, most people there were a little off their rocker (and we were not) so there was a lot of inappropriate behavior, obnoxious yelling and slurring of words...everything you'd expect at the party of a UMASS alum! The highlight of our time there was getting my first sobriety test ever! See, Sean left the world of Finance too (I guess we both figured out how crappy it is!) and is now a CT State Trooper. He was trying to get me to drink the world's most disgusting champagne, Asti (ack!), and I used my being the designated driver as an excuse not to drink it (although not entirely untrue). Joking around, I said something about needing to be able to pass a sobriety test and he jumped at the opportunity (I think to show off how he's such a tough cop...another story for another time!). I did pass with flying colors and was even described as "stone cold sober" (which I was). Soon after that, it was time to hit the road back to my comfy home and my comfy bed. Bliss!
So, in one night, we got our fill of holiday cheer! We don't have any parties (that we know of yet) for this coming weekend, so we might actually have some time to relax before the real holiday madness begins. Cheers to that!
Today I am thankful for having friends and family that care about us enough to want us part of their holiday celebrations...as simple and silly as it may seem, I feel like it is truly a blessing.
