I gather from the media and others that Christmas is the time where families get together to enjoy each other’s company. So, I have spent my life wondering why that isn’t so across the board. I have been married now for about 9 years. In that time, I have still not enjoyed a Christmas like the ones that are portrayed as the norm. In fact, they have gotten worse. First, I don’t like to travel away from our are during the winter. I scrape myself through a brutal summer with HVAC cooling as my only hope. The rest of the year is pure bliss weather wise. So, why in the world would I want to go where it’s cold? I absolutely adore being able to get up, throw on a long sleeve t-shirt to go outside for coffee and a sunrise. If we go to my parents it is cold, snowy and tension filled. My mother is the Christmas queen who must have everything just right or she spirals into a mean snap dragon. My father just sort of stays out of the way or hides. It’s so not a great scene. From the time I arrive, I am counting down the hours until I can pack the car to head south to my lovely home. I do it out of a mix of misguided loyalty and guilt. The only worthwhile thing is it makes my mom’s holiday season to have her children around. It’s even worse with my wife’s family. They are even further north. Their claim to fame is the fact that their home maintains a near constant sub tropical temperature. Mother in law weighs maybe a hundred pounds soaking wet so she needs all that heat. While father in law just can’t boast enough about how awesome his HVAC furnace is.