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Happy Holidays! I hope that you are revved up for a wonderful holiday season with friends and family.
I remember as a kid growing up in the ‘burbs getting super excited the first time I spotted holiday lights up at my neighbor’s house. We would trim a Christmas tree every year – always a real one, complete with dragging it out to the woods after the New Year. On Christmas Eve, my parents would host my aunts and uncles and bust out a beige square table to play mahjong. They needed four people to play, so sometimes I would get enlisted. The clack-clack-clack sounds of mahjong tiles being shuffled and reassembled was something of a soundtrack for the holidays. As a kid, I was good enough to complete a table but not much of a threat. Some of my relatives were VERY competitive.
My family would seldom travel for the holidays. My brother and I would go sledding in the area, play Dungeons & Dragons and other games, and generally amuse ourselves. We received presents, but they were not extravagant; my parents had a rule that whatever one of us got, the other one got too, so there were a lot of sweaters and socks and things that were practical and not very distinctive. I would, however, get Star Wars and G.I. Joe figures as I was hot on those for years.
Now, for our kids, we often take them on the road to visit family for the holidays. My parents don’t travel very much anymore, so we visit them. Mahjong has been replaced by Monopoly Deal. My kids don’t expect extravagant presents, but they do expect lots of family time.
I’ve always loved this time of year. At the same time, I recognize that this is actually a very difficult season for many, whether it be from loss or an unresolved relationship or being far away or some other struggle. Hopefully, this is all the more reason to appreciate what we have.
Be generous and grateful if you can, and if you’re in a position to help others, please do so. I’ve tried to spread around some holiday cheer this past week and have gotten a very positive, surprised reception. Why so surprised? Who knows. May this holiday season be filled with warmth and love and goodwill toward others.
Happy Holidays from our family to yours!
- Andrew, Evelyn, Christopher, and Damian
For my conversation with Zach Graumann recounting the year that was, check out our podcast convo here [ [link removed] ]. Email [email protected] [ mailto:[email protected] ] if you’d like a few free months off of your wireless bill via Noble [ [link removed] ], and feel free to share this offer with others. Every bit helps.

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