Due to the fact that last year I had the best xmas in ... well, to be honest ... 10 years or so, I decided that the only way I'd be able to survive the one this year was if I made it as low-key as possible - no expectations, aspirations, or anything to remind me of the previous year.

So, on that note, I decided to pay my family out in Madison, WI a visit and spend those merriest of holiday days with them ... the whole bleeding lot of them, actually, as both my sisters, their husbands/fiancees, the mom & brother of one of the husbands, my mom, my stepdad, and my two younger brothers were all together under the same roof for the first time since '96.

And, lo & behold, it ended up being rather good ... my family is always immensely cheerful this time of the year, and little by little I found myself concentrating on the present, not focusing on the past. Something I've found it very hard to do otherwise.

Happy holidays.