Merry Christmas to the SunPoker Staff, Belated Style

Hello Staff,

First off let me apologize for the tardy Merry Christmas wishes. While what I am about to embark on is not intended to be an "excuse-fest" for my belated festive warm wishes, it surely does make for a good story, and will probably feature well in my autobiography, (if and when one is ever written and/or published...I know the author, and he seemingly never has enough time to breathe let alone write an autobiography).

Stretching back to the Saturday before Christmas, In the morning I was able to get my wife one present, a remote car starter, (something she has wanted since the weather started dipping below 50 degrees F), and I had planned on using the afternoon to get some other shopping done...The installation of this remote started device takes MUCH longer than expected, (which made me feel like I was back on Antiguan time;) so I am stuck without a car all day until 4 PM, and while I am on my way to pick up the car, AND know this is my only day to go Christmas shopping, I think, "Let me run to the outlets and get a few other things, but when I get there, the outlets are actually closed. Something about a snow storm coming...

Saturday evening, we are met with 21 inches of snow. So much snow that my snow blower is no match for the height, and it takes me ALL of Sunday just to clear the bottom half of the driveway, just enough to get the cars onto the unplowed street, so leaving the house on Sunday and Monday are not an option. (I guess $14k/year is not enough in property tax to have your streets plowed)..[that was just my holiday did at the establishment]

Tuesday the temperature warms up to a balmy 27degrees, (still Fahrenheit), and I attempt to snow blow the rest of the driveway so no one slips and falls, and breaks a bone (foreshadow;), but after walking on the snow on the driveway, and then letting it sit for a few days, the base turns into ice so when I attempt to use the snow blower, it rattles so hard from trying to chop the ice that the side panel that covers the motor pops loose and falls off. After a few expletives in the holiday spirit, I wait for it to cool down enough from me to touch it, and I rig it back together as best I can...nay I think of actually using a regular old shovel... and I complete the task of clearing the driveway as the Sun falls below the horizon, and I'm exhausted.

Wednesday Tyler has his last hockey of the year for 2009, and it could prove to be the last game of his season because with three minutes left in the game, Tyler puts a check on a kid in his own defensive zone and hears a "snap". He skates over to the bench in severe pain, the coach tells the ref to stop the game, and takes him to the locker room. The first aid guy comes in, looks at it and says, "I think it's broken" (shoulder).

Off to the ER we go, get the X-ray, and sure enough, it's broken, but it's not the shoulder, it's the scapula, (which is the shoulder blade). The Doctor says this is very rare, and that's he's only seen it once before in his 22 years as an MD. So armed with a sling and Motrin we head back home at a little after midnight.

Christmas Eve was relatively uneventful, except we go to my Mother-in-Law's house and Tyler and Morgan bickering like siblings do get into a shoving match, but with Tyler's broken shoulder, (which he plays up like Sir Lawrence Oliver in the second act of Hamlet, "Oh my shoulder...") I can tell he's not in pain 'cause I can see him laughing as his Mother scolds his sister for touching him when he has a broken shoulder;)

Christmas day, this kids open their presents and I lead my wife on a wild goose chase with 4 or 5 hidden clues throughout the house to find her present... It's the remote car starter... She opens it, she loves it, goes over to the door to try it, and nothing... It worked like a charm when the guy showed me after he installed it, but when I needed it most, nada.

So I need to set up another appointment to get the remote car starter fixed, then another appointment to have an orthopedic specialist look at Tyler's shoulder, (and charge me just enough to cover his own ski trip to Vail)... I think I'll stop there.

Well it could be worse. At least I have my family, my health, and a group of people I work with that I love.

Here's to a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.

Rob