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Did I come to California too late? I had a chance in about 1996 and I passed on it. I didn't feel quite ready at the time. And yet...
Today I am requesting two days off around the holidays, and it occurred to me that I'm not taking a longer block of time because I don't really do holidays like they were done when I was a kid. Big blocks of relations coming to my grandparents house in Coronado, but we've spread further across the country now, and between my mom's religious fixation and my dad's Limbaugh... fixation, I'm glad to be in a situation where I don't talk to them very often. (The mark of a bad son, I'm sure, but there it is.)
If my grandad hadn't passed away just before I moved out here, I might be going down the coast and spending the holidays at the old house, sitting in the familiar kitchen rather than the living room, listening to the same jokes he'd forgotten he'd told me before (which frankly, I inflict on my friends as well), and having a simple meal. And although I communicate better with women than men, it was probably my grandad who most formed my personality. He seemed happier than I feel at times, but his quiet sense of doing right and helping people without Bible-thumping or even caring about getting credit had a lot of impact on me. And as I sit here at the office typing this entry, I can only wish I'd picked up his work ethic as well.
So I offer a mental toast to all familial and familiar role models, and head back to work.
Today I am requesting two days off around the holidays, and it occurred to me that I'm not taking a longer block of time because I don't really do holidays like they were done when I was a kid. Big blocks of relations coming to my grandparents house in Coronado, but we've spread further across the country now, and between my mom's religious fixation and my dad's Limbaugh... fixation, I'm glad to be in a situation where I don't talk to them very often. (The mark of a bad son, I'm sure, but there it is.)
If my grandad hadn't passed away just before I moved out here, I might be going down the coast and spending the holidays at the old house, sitting in the familiar kitchen rather than the living room, listening to the same jokes he'd forgotten he'd told me before (which frankly, I inflict on my friends as well), and having a simple meal. And although I communicate better with women than men, it was probably my grandad who most formed my personality. He seemed happier than I feel at times, but his quiet sense of doing right and helping people without Bible-thumping or even caring about getting credit had a lot of impact on me. And as I sit here at the office typing this entry, I can only wish I'd picked up his work ethic as well.
So I offer a mental toast to all familial and familiar role models, and head back to work.
