Christmas has come and gone. While I did request nothing for Christmas this year from family, I forgot to mention it to some close friends of mine that I work with. Thankfully they only gave me little things that I could either regift, actually use, or easily get rid of without too much of a fuss. I do want to take a moment and say that one of my favorite unexpected gifts from a friend this year was a gift certificate to my favorite (and most expensive) coffee shop. I’m not quite sure why I didn’t think of that myself, but I am so happy that he did because I treated The Hubby and I to a really great cup of coffee before our trip to Missouri on Saturday morning. It was perfect. So for future reference, gift cards to coffee shops are great gifts for those coffee lovers in your life. And who doesn’t have a ton of those, right?

I really can’t say that I didn’t get anything for Christmas because I did, despite my pleas to the contrary. I do have to admit that other than the few friend gifts mentioned above, my mother and daughter are the only ones who bought me anything this year. (Well, The Hubby took care of stocking stuffers this year. So technically he did get me some things: socks, more socks, a toothbrush, some bandanas, and the obligatory kisses.) I was so proud of my mother because she ended up getting me two books, one of which I specifically requested. And my daughter went to a bead shop in Missouri and couldn’t pass up a bone bead that she promptly put in my hair as soon as she gave it to me. All in all, I consider it a huge success. Compared to years past, I got nothing for Christmas.

How do I feel about that?

I’m going to be totally honest here. Hold nothing back, right? For a nanosecond, I was disappointed. There. I said it. When the kids were opening up their presents on Christmas morning, I had a tiny twinge of sadness that I didn’t have at least one small present to open. As I said, though, it lasted an entire nanosecond and then it was gone. From that point on, I was so happy and relieved that our living room wasn’t quickly filling up with mounds of plastic, paper, boxes, and bows galore. I was so happy that my children were genuinely happy to be opening their two gifts that were under the tree - one from Santa and one from us. I was so happy to know that the money we saved will help us reach our goals that much sooner. The way I look at it, we are one step closer to the bus and finally getting on the road fulltime. And that is totally worth the absence of a present or two under the tree on Christmas morning.

I think it may be a sign of the times when you have to log on to your daughter’s MySpace in order to wish her a happy birthday.

Lauren has been in Missouri for three weeks now visiting with her cousins. Every time I have spoken with her she has made it a point to tell me how much fun she is having and that she is nowhere near ready to come home. I wish I could say the same. I’m more than ready for her to come home. I didn’t realize until today, when I was faced with “celebrating” her birthday without her, exactly how much I miss her.

We’ve had some wonderful and amazing times over the last fifteen years. She and I both went through quite a bit in the early years of her life, some of it not all that pleasant. I’m very thankful that she was too young to remember those days and that the biggest portion of her memories are good ones. The Mother-Daughter Dynamic has been one that I have enjoyed, even on the bad days. I’ve grown and learned just as much, if not more than, she has over the years. While every day is not a bed of roses, I would repeat them all and not change a thing.

I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. I remember seeing her for the first time and crying at the beauty of it all. (Or maybe it was the pain. Could be both.) Her perfectly shaped little cone head, cheeks so swollen and red that they could rival dear ‘ole Santa himself, a scream that could have broken glass into a million pieces. The four and a half hours of constant pushing to get her here suddenly didn’t matter (ok. I exaggerate.) once I got to see her, hold her, kiss her, and just be with her. It was truly the greatest day of my life up until that point.

This will be our third official year in the “teenager” stage of life and I am hesitant to say how wonderful it’s been so far. Yes, she is a very strong willed, independent girl naturally and the additional hormones tend to make her unbearable at times. That’s to be expected. All in all, however, she really is a good girl and I consider myself very lucky to be her mother. I can only hope and pray that the remaining “teenage” years go as well.

We leave tomorrow, headed to Missouri to spend a couple of days and bring The Girl home. We’ll be back on Monday (Christmas Eve) evening, get up early and do Christmas morning breakfast at my mom’s, and then the rest of the holiday time off is mine to do with as I please. I think I’ll spend it making up for lost time with my daughter as much as possible.

Well, that and a little surfing the net. Don’t give me that look — she’ll be doing the MySpace thing. Only this time it will be someone else missing her while I have her home safe and sound with me.