Christmas preparations

From Panagiota to Brooke on December 22, 2010

Europe has gotten pummeled hasn't it? So many poor people stuck in airports. It sounds like torture. It's been cold here, but no real snow yet. There might be a snowstorm on Christmas. That would be kind of nice actually. To be stuck inside with everybody on Christmas hanging out, eating and being together. Sounds cozy and Christmasy. Where are you doing Christmas? Andreas house or will it just be the three of you? I have no idea what to get Lee. I thought a karaoke machine would be fun. Especially because my little 6 year old is really into listening to pop songs on the radio and she gets the two little ones into it and the three of them half sing these horrible pop songs. It's very funny. Plus Lee hates it when I sing. He actually hates it when most people sing so making him sit in a room listening to people who can't sing should be loads of fun for me. Poor Sofia is sick. She has like a weird flu/cold/virus hybrid. She has fever, but not high and she's tolerating it well, a (clear) runny nose, puffy eyes, she is either really hungry or not at all, and alternates between constipation and her tummy hurting. I'm going to assume it's a virus and hope it's gone by Christmas. I'm embarrassed to say that I may have bought her too many presents for Christmas. I'm so against that and Lee and I have actually gotten into arguments about it because he believes in loads of presents. But I couldn't resist this year. It's not like I got her anything expensive. Just lots of cheap 1 or 2 dollar things. Lots might be an exaggeration. I got her one big thing, and several cheap stocking stuffers that don't fit in her stocking so have become wrapped presents instead. And I'm so torn about the Santa Claus thing. We never believed in Santa Claus. My parents are practical Greeks, they were like there is no Santa Claus get over it. But I feel bad ruining it for Sofia. xxoo, P

This is an email I got from Panagiota last Christmas, when she went her version of "whole hog". I thought about saving this one for Christmas, but the idea of her buying Lee a karaoke machine just to drive him crazy just made me laugh out loud so I had to share. It's hard to choose emails because they're all part of such a long back-and-forth. Most of our friendship, really, played out through emails. I am fortunate that my lazy yin (as opposed to her fastidious yang) meant that I never delete emails. I have all of the emails sent between us, from the planning of the baby CPR course where we met, to the last one she sent making plans for me to visit after her last round of treatments. I think of things to tell her all the time.

Brooke