December Days - 12.25.09

MerryChristmas!

If you read our family holiday letter this year (http://christmas.hawaiianhoosiers.com) I talked about how the kids argue over who the favorite child of the family is. This debate is taking place for the second generation in a row.

My own brother, sister, and I have debated for years which one of us was our parents' favorite. We each make our own valid arguments for the title of 'the favorite' but Mom and Dad have never give us the answer we have been seeking for years. That is, until tonight when Mom gave us all special new ornaments declaring who was the favorite, or so we thought.

My brother and sister opened their ornaments and we discovered that Mom had wimped out, the ornaments designated birth order in big bold letters and then in parenthesis it said "Mom's Favorite". So it initially appeared we would still be left with the generic answer that we're all favorites, until I opened my ornament. Sure my ornament said First Born (Mom's Favorite), but unlike my siblings' gifts, the head of the character on my ornament had been broken off - a clear sign that the other two held a bit more clout in my mom's eyes than myself.

So, while we still don't know who the real favorite is, at least we're a step closer - it's not me!

Truth is, my sister is the favorite. I know it, my brother knows it, and my sister knows it. My Mom is such an amazing woman though that somehow she has been able to love each of us equally for all our lives. In fact, few people have grown up feeling more love from their parents than we were fortunate to feel. So there may be only one real favorite, but in the end it really doesn't matter....at least that's what my brother and I tell ourselves. :-)