I know its not the big Turkey day yet, but I decided this weekend was my time to put up my Christmas decorations. I have a tree, some lights, garland, a few wreaths, and a (colored) Santa stocking. Oh, and I can't forget the handmade "Eboni's Home for the Holidays COUNTDOWN" calendar that I made which now hangs beautifully above my small tree. Today begins my official countdown with Day 25. Each night before bed, I'll go in the livingroom (I plan on moving my bed back into the bedroom when its sleepy time...good thing its on rollers) and tear off a numbered paper revealing the new number of days left before my return home. Erica calls it pressed, but I call it excitement and anticipation. Since she isn't going home for the holidays, she has notified me that she will be preparing a "wish list" of things that she wants me to bring back for her. This doesn't sound like a problem but I hope she doesn't get carried away with her requests.

Oh, news flash, I know its been a while since I've written on a regular bases so let me update you. My brother, Jon is getting married! Can you believe that! I know, he's still only 21, he'll be 22 on Dec 23, the day before his wedding. Yes, he is getting married on Christmas Eve. Mom and I had a conversation about the fact that I will probably be the Old Maid in the family (she didn't say that, actually she insists I won't) and how it feels as if this is the first wedding of all my siblings. Of the five of us, my older sister is already married but she ran off and did it like someone was going to stop her (go figure) so I didn't even know she was married until a few weeks later. At any rate, Jon's wedding is the first actually wedding of all of my mom's kids. Its really interesting to think of "fat boy" (what i called him all through is wonder years, even though he is about 6'7" now and no where near fat) is about to have a home and a wife. I commend Jennifer for sticking in there with him and I wish them the best of luck. I've missed so much of his life because we are so different and since I was 16 never really lived under the same roof for more thant 3 months, 4 at most. I told mom that I was trying to think of something Japanese-ish to bring back with me but I keep thinking of him as a child and that he'd tear it up. I have to put those thoughts out of my head because in a month he will be someone's husband. Wow, that's hard to believe.

The good thing is that all of my mom's family will be in NC for the holidays. My grandma (mom's mom) and all her children (mom and her siblings). Uncle Tom (the baby of the fam) and his wife Angelica will be there from Texas. Aunt Connie her husband Chuck and Connie's youngest boy Adam will be there. Connie's oldest boy Gerald and his fiance Jean will be there. Connie's oldest child and daughter Kathy will be there with her husband and 2 kids. And of course my mom and all my siblings should be around...I think my oldest brother Chris is coming up from Florida with his girlfriend and their new baby (who I don't know, I actually don't even know the mother or the babies name.

As I sit here and trace my family tree, I realize that a lot of interracial marriages/relationships are here. It seems to have been that way for a long time. Out of the 5 siblings my mom has, she is the only one who married a Black person. And of the 5 siblings I have, Robyn better NOT be dating, I'm the only one who dates Black people...well Caroll does too, but she dates just about whatever race. That's interesting. Not good or bad, just interesting. I'd never looked at it like that before. Its also cool that my grandmother isn't like most of the women I know from around her way in the south. Thinking that white people are trouble and that we shouldn't date outside our race. She's always been very welcoming to all of the people that her children and grandchildren have dated. That's what love is really all about.

Good ol' Vanceboro, North Carolina. God Bless you all.