Here's Ronnie...

So..how have you been?

I know it has been a little while...and some of you have passed along concern that everything was ok with me, and wondering when I was going to get back to this. Well, rest easy campers - everything is just fine...and I am back to the grindstone.

First, I hope everyone had a great holiday season. I know I did. For the first time in a looooooooooong time, I actually enjoyed the holidays; Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years - everything! Now, I am not a Scrooge going around "humbug"-ing everyone and everything - but the holidays, and everything associated with it, are not always at the top of my list of things I want to do. This year, however, was different...and I am not sure why.

Maybe it is the fact the economy is in such sad shape, but the focus of this year has changed from the amount of what I enjoyed (gifts/food/travel), to the quality of everything. I looked forward to watching a different Christmas movie every night with my family, enjoying the experience of being together and sharing in the laughs and/or tears.  Some of the most fun we had was baking Christmas cookies...and then eating them. We even built a gingerbread house. It was from a kit, but hey, the effort was still there.

We continued our family tradition of going out to eat dinner on Christmas Eve, and this year, I surprised everyone with a little present. It was great to see the faces of my daughters light up receiving a book....A BOOK!!! Granted, they are part of the 'Twilight' series, but still...A BOOK!!!  My wife got one of Rachel Ray's books (I'm nor sure which - they all sort of blend together). After dinner (and my family eating more than enough ribs and shrimp), we went around the city to look at lights before heading home and enjoying the luminaries on South Main Street.

That part of the tradition has always been special. When I was younger, my family always traveled to Wapakoneta for Christmas Eve with my Mom's side of the family. By the time we left and made it back to Findlay, it was usually after 11pm, but no matter what time, I remember us going down South Main to look at the luminaries and the Christmas lights on all the homes. My mother really enjoyed this, and it was one of the things she always looked forward to. I guess that has stuck with me, and I am happy that my own family has embraced the continuation of this tradition.

My kids still got their fair share of presents on Christmas morning - in fact, for the first time, I do not believe either of them did not get anything they had asked Santa for. I know they no longer believe in Santa, but they have not shared that with me. The night before, they put our cookies and milk for Santa, and some carrot sticks for Chet and the other reindeer. After eating the cookies and sharing the carrots with the his reindeer (aka Sammy the Beagle), Santa left a note saying "Thanks - see you next year".

Even though I had to go into work several times, and the girls were busier than ever over their 'break', it seemed like we spent more quality time together than ever before. We officially ended the holiday season on January 4th when we went to Dayton to see 'Trans-Siberian Orchestra' in concert. My children were not too excited about going, and I must admit, I was not sure what to expect. When it was over, however, I think we were all blown away. It was TSO's last concert of the year, so it seemed like they put a little more into it. My kids enjoyed it so much, they wanted to know if we could do this every year.

Since Thanksgiving, I have been meaning to start writing again, but between work (and work, and work, and work), my family, and actually enjoying myself, I really did not have much time to do anything else. With an inauguration coming up, battles for Senate seats still going on, the city/county still in a financial quagmire, and people wondering whether Pittsburgh is going to the Super Bowl (maybe not political, but I hear this from others quite a bit), it seemed like a good time to start up again. I have had my little vacation, and feel rested and ready to roll.

Let's start off with a poll. How has our Mayor done in his first year? In a time where the city is struggling to maintain a (semi)balanced budget, disagreements with unions and flooding not yet under control, how is Pete faring? Vote in the poll to the right, and/or leave comments below.

Thanks to everyone for a great 2008. Let's make 2009 even better!!

-RSKnopfJr

Comments

[Levi]

Loved the summary of the Christmas season. It's all about the quality time... :-)

Glad to see you're back on the blog.

[bcole]

Hey I totally agree with you about having time of your own.. It is very good that you had a good holiday....Just remember it is very good to always keep a little time for yourself and your family but of course you already know that... Do not stress out to much