You better not pout, you better not cry...

I was about to write about how melancholy I can get around the holidays now. And then it dawned on me. I have so much to be thankful for. In the span of 18 months, I finished a remodel, got divorced, sold my house, moved, ended my business, and started two new jobs. I did it all without having a nervous breakdown or running my EX over with my car. (And I would have saved a lot a gas doing it since I drive a Prius.)

I have more money in the bank than I ever thought possible, and I don't have to share it with an idiot. I don't have to watch any holiday bowl games on TV. And I don't have to pretend I give a flying F if any UCLA sports team wins or loses or explodes in spontaneous combustion. I don't have to appease my father-in-law who always insisted that I stuff the turkey and sew it up with a turkey needle. Don't ask.

I don't have to buy presents for all my in-laws because my EX didn't have the imagination to do it himself. I don't have to slave in the kitchen for hours while my EX schmoozes with his family in the living room. I can go to Crate and Barrel and buy all the holiday shit I want to decorate my home, and I don't have to explain to anyone.

I don't have to do anything I don't want, or be anything other than who I want to be. I don't have to watch my EX or his dad eat corn on the cob ever again. Don't ask.

I can travel wherever I want, whenever I want. And I can revel in my daughter's wild and wacky sense of humor along with the knowledge that she gets it from me. Suddenly, I'm really looking forward to Christmas. Happy Holidays everyone!