The Roush Family Christmas

As I sit here alone in the office on December 22 I am not really in the Christmas spirit. Maybe it is because I am at work, or maybe it is because I am not home yet, but either way this is my first attempt at getting on the holly jolly train. I am not going to all humbug on you because I am not a scrooge. Actually I love Christmas... no adore Christmas. It goes beyond my favorite time of the year. For me Christmas is a time for my family. It is literally the only time we see each other all year long, unless someone gets married or something, and we make the most of every min with each other. Roush Family Christmas or RFC for short is what I look forward to all year.... no literally all year. I love my family more than you can imagine. We are so close and have so many inside jokes it is hard to keep tract. Even though we barely see each other when we come home for Christmas it is like no time has pasted at all. We all sit around and talk and simply enjoy that we are finally together. This year for example, RFC will occur on Dec 26th to account for the fact that my brother needs to go see his father in law in Minnesota, yet the RF will continue to act like it is Christmas on the 26 because the day does not matter what is important is that we are all together.

Now the break down on why RFC is better than yours:

- The morning starts out with us all waking up and preparing to start the festivities with us all hanging around the family room aka my bedroom, watching TV or listening to music with the yule log on the TV. Once everyone has woken up or arrived we all go to our designated rooms to receive a stocking to stuff... After 19ish years of Santa coming to our house and filling our stockings with care we decided to start a new traditions by exchanging stockings in a secret Santa like manner. Each year after Christmas we pick names out of a hat and we have a whole year to buy gifts to fill the stocking of said person.  The first year it was my siblings stockings were mostly candy little toys and what not like what Santa use to bring until we got to my stocking... Again started out tame candy and what have you... then i got to then end of the stocking where there was a note giving me clues on where my "big" present was... horror... My brother was the one who filled this stocking this year and if you don't know my brother here is a quick run down: only boy in our family or 3 girls, an animator, likes to do all sorts of pranks including but not limiting to: flying a kite out of a moving mini van, fake kid napping me in Safeway, throwing me in a suitcase and leaving me outside, putting a carpet in the street and count how many cars drive over it or around it... so needless to say when i read the note I was mildly afraid. After searching the house for a bit I found the present... the present was in a clear plastic cage, it was definitely moving, definitely more than one... My brother had given me the gift of Christmas Crickets. 25 to be exact. He told me that for Christmas I have saved 25 lives since they were all feeder crickets I would not have to worry about them chirping or flying. I found this gross. I am not a very big girly girl, but the idea of having pet crickets was more then gross to me. He also gave me this gel like water so I could feed them with out killing them, which required me to stick my hand in a cage of crickets every morning. I was not pleased. Eventually we let the crickets go in the wild, and when I say crickets I really mean the 2 that ate all the other crickets and had also learned how to chirp, where they were promptly attacked and eaten by birds. Ah the Christmas spirit.

This was of course the start of one of my favorite family traditions, the tradition of giving random inside jokes and cruel gifts on Christmas morning. While most kids were getting candy, toys, and holiday cheer on Christmas at the Roush house we were opening alligator heads, Mexican wrestling masks, David Hasslehoff memorabilia, mugs suspended in Jell-o, giant stuffed catfish, and so much more. Every year is better then the next and every year the jokes run deeper and we laugh harder. This tradition is starting to even make the rounds with some of my friends for Santa is tired of going to there houses too. It might be a crazy tradition, but it is one the inspires the most memories.

- After the stockings have been opened we all retire to the kitchen were my mom has made homemade coffee cake and egg casserole. We all go and grab drinks, mostly soda or juice since no one in my family drinks coffee, and sit down for our breakfast. Of course we all fight over the middle and talk about the last couple days events. Becki, my sister, does not like coffee cake or casserole so she opts for a frosted doughnut or other food she can find around the house. This part of Christmas is tame and very wholesome.

-Next we all take showers and just hang around and talk as a family. Maybe watch Christmas movies: Charlie Brown's Christmas, Christmas Vacation.... the normal

-Lunch happens... sometimes

-Dinner is always in the dinning room, which we only use once a year, and it is always steak twice baked potatoes, green beans, and some sort of rolls... very yummy and we are all almost too full to talk.

-Next is our Christmas to each other. I love this part of Christmas. I have to buy gifts for so many people it is hard to find that perfect gift for everyone on your list, but my immediate family's gifts are always really special and take a lot of time and thinking. Right now I can't wait to get home and open the amazon boxes that are crowding my house so I can wrap there presents and put them under the tree. I do really like giving gifts way more than I like receiving them. Especially when it comes to my family. I completed all of my Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving because I love picking out things for them and don't want to have to wait till the Holiday season. For example my sister Becki's gift I have had since March... but it is soo perfect. We unwrap our presents one by one so we can see what everyone picked out for each other and just enjoy the Christmas tree and chatter.

-After presents we usually dive into the Christmas cookies and just enjoy being with each other for the rest of the night.

I guess my family only has one crazy tradition, but it is pretty intense. I am now more in the Christmas spirit, or more of the Family spirit. I guess I just like being with my family. Some people look at me weird or think I am strange when I get excited to see them. I think this is sad when people don't enjoy their family. You share so much with them, so much history and stories I just can't see why people could not want to spend time together.

The Roush Family Christmas is slowly dying though. I am the only one of my siblings not married and they all have other Christmas' to attend or are starting to have there own families and want to start their own family Christmas'. While I am happy for them and love all over my brother in laws and sister in laws, it makes me a little sad that our little happy family is starting to grow and grow apart. I just want to be able to see my family at least once a year and maybe Christmas is just too much stress and pressure to see everyone you are required to that we miss out on seeing the people we want to see most. Maybe RFC needs to start happening a different time of the year where we can all be with each other and truly enjoy more time together. To me Christmas is not really about the date, it is more about the people I get to share it with. Who cares if we have a Christmas tree up in July and we are all eating coffee cake and watching Christmas movies, as long as my family is together and we all get to share the Holiday together nothing else matters. At the end of the day being together is the most important thing about this time of year and being thankful for haveing each other to share jokes and stories with. I am more than thankful that I have a loving caring family that keeps increaseing its members and hope that we can keep the RFC traditions alive no matter what day, week or month we celebrate Christmas next year!

Happy Holidays!