Texas Lou

I recently filled up my 4 GB memory card on my digital camera and had to empty all of my pictures onto my hard drive.  I came across a picture from December 24th, 2008 taken on my 26th birthday.  Thinking about this night, I came to the realization that my birthday is my favorite day of the year.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m neither full of myself, nor do I enjoy torturing myself with an annual celebration that reminds me that I’m one year older and still haven’t accomplished my goals.  Although this day is always nice because I get lots of attention, the real reason it is my favorite day of the year is because it is the one day of the year when I know I will get to be with my family. 

Since my parents divorced when I was 12 years old, the days that the 5 of us got to spend together as a family, broken and disfunctional as we may be, have been few and far between.  Since I moved to Virginia in 2005, my time in Texas with my family is limited so the whole family gets together for my birthday every year to have dinner on Christmas Eve. 

Although it is just one night a year, it is the one night where I get to pretend that my parents are still together and we are all still a big, happy family.  I’ve often thought about the fact that I will never know how it feels to have my parents together, married, and happy as an adult, and this is the closest that I get. 

Every year at dinner, we take a family picture, and these pictures have become some of my most cherished.  I really think we are all truly happy at the moment these pictures were taken.

December 24, 2006 @ The Taste of Texas

December 24, 2007 @ The Melting Pot

December 24, 2008 @ Perry’s Steakhouse 

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