Holiday memories we'd like to forget but lingers..

My first Thanksgiving was really nice, however for a good laugh I'll tell you about our first Christmas instead. This is for all the ladies with in-law issues... I've got you all beat hands down!!

When my husband and I first met, his dad came up to Houston for a business transaction and decided to live with us. Of course we were still in the honeymoon phase of our relationship and everything was good. His dad was wonderful from afar.

After a while I started to notice little odd things my father in law would do. I merely passed it off as his crazy odd habits after all everyone has odd habits.... I'll save his odd habits for a later story. The remote controller picture is an example of his handy work and boy are there plenty of those.

Anyway, we manage to survive Christmas which was wonderful and it came time to take down the Christmas tree. My husband miss calculated the ceiling height and the tree could house a pack of squirrels and some. It was like the Grizzwald’s Christmas tree on steroids. As a nice gesture my father in law wanted to take down the tree, I told him thank you but no. I wanted to keep the tree up just a bit longer.

As we approach our house from doing errands. I notice this big thing on our yard which looked burnt. And I’m thinking to myself, please lord don’t let that be my house. Keep in mind we had just moved in and I wanted to at least have a good impression to our new neighbors. Well, my crazy father in law took out the tree without taking off the ornaments, lights, etc… and dragged it out from the living room to the front yard. So all you saw from the living room to the front yard was broken lights, precious ornaments my mother had given me and all keep sake stuff every where. I mean every where!!!, it was as though wild dogs had gone through our house.

At that moment I never wanted to choke someone before but boy I wanted to just scream and kill my father in law, however all I could manage was just tears,.. no words just tears…. To top things off my crazy father in law went out and bought a car cover for his truck. True to form he bought the opposite of what he actually needed. So next to the broken Grizzwald Christmas tree was this ridiculous truck which had a car cover for a Miata and only covered the hood of his truck…!!!! We moved the following year.

A New Day

Congratulations senator Obama. The election is over and I took my moment of discomfort but quickly gave way to the feeling of happiness and peace of mind, because this is a great moment for history but most of all I’m proud of the American people who turned out to vote and got passionate about politics.

While at the voting both, I must admit the choice was not hard. I simply asked myself who would I trust to baby sit my kids for the next four year? Would he or she pass my security/safety test and if for some reason I gave them a pass. Would their friends and associations be welcome? Most of all I am proud to have honored Dr. Martin Luther Kings legacy to judge a man based on character not skin color. My vote was not for Obama. You could only window dress for so long, eventually the foundations will reveal it self. I'd much rather be the odd man out any day than to have made history for the sake of making history.

Now that we know anything is possible and perhaps took one of the biggest steps on getting over the “race issue” or the “white man’s guilt” where a black man or a woman can achieve anything in America we can now get to the real issues without sneaking in the race card when valid points are brought up. This is now an even playing field (though it has always been there) with possibilities for anyone no matter what color, background, and gender you are if you work hard anything is possible. So no more excuses not to get off your ass and work hard for something you want.

I claim no party but my own family and the greatness of what America is and can still become. Though the Republican Party lost its ground, they should put things in perspective first, given all the money, media, Hollywood and Opera hype Obama did not get a land slide victory or a double digit lead in the popular vote, as everyone was predicting. McCain ran a horrible (putting it lightly) campaign, lets not forget it was the media who got him as their nominee. His biggest problem was that he said being bipartisan is the hardest thing to do and reached out too many times to the other side. No Mr. McCain being bipartisan is the easiest thing to do because agreeing and going along with someone else’s idea you could do in your sleep. Standing alone on your own feet and morals, while others are attacking and throwing insults at you is what a leader does and the truly hard thing to do.

So Republicans take this moment as an opportunity to clean house, too long have you strayed away from your core beliefs of lower taxes, less government, expanding the private sector and the party of Abraham Lincoln who stood to abolish slavery when majority of the people wanted him to be bipartisan and reach across the other side.

Again I am so proud of America, like always I will trust but verify our leaders and to give Obama more than what majority of people gave Bush is respect and refuse to give into hate when opinions differ. May the best days be ahead of us.