YES... I'M THANKFUL INDEED

Christmas can be really cheesy and over-emotional, what with the bombardment of countless family commercials and holiday events throughout your neighborhood, one can burst from overload. Don't get me wrong, I revel in the lights, the carols and the shopping rush especially here in New York City, but I can't help but look around at all the droids who are willing to spend their last dime on a gift for someone they most likely don't even know very well. What is this person's favorite color? What music do they like? Do they understand what makes you angry and what makes you smile? Chances are they don't, which leads me to the very reason I still tune in to A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer and my favorite Christmas special above all, A Christmas Story. All because of my family:

• My Mom isn't always the most understanding person, but she does the best she knows how. I cannot stress that enough. Like a roller coaster, her emotions rise and fall on an hourly basis but to my dismay, I've grown accustomed to her mania. With all her chinks and loose springs, I find it difficult to imagine life without her. After all, despite her foaming at the mouth on a regular basis, she does manage to utter the words "I love you" when there are parents who never say such words to their children...
• And now for my lovely sisters. Like snowflakes, neither of them resemble the other. As if that wasn't enough to swallow, their personalities vary from the extreme to the more subdued. For example, my eldest sister Maio (she was named after a Japanese artist) has always been rather blunt and straight to the point. It turns out that her daughter, my niece, doesn't fall far from the demanding tree. I'm grateful though that she's become a caring, selfless mom, as I would've never have guessed she would seamlessly mold into a parent with such unusual ease. Natalie, the second child, is my strength and support. Not only is she an exemplary Mom to my nephew the prodigy, but she also doubles as my personal counselor when I begin fantasizing about leaping off the nearest building to my impending demise. Ending with my youngest sister Lilly, I'm reminded of how the last child in the general family unit usually falls into the careless, daredevil-type category. Always up for a challenge of magnanimous proportions, Lilly keeps me worried and constantly chasing her with a safety net. As always, I love them all and am grateful for the box-full of luminary personage that lays before me.

Christmas to me is a time when you ponder about what life might have been like without those you hold dear to your heart. Without getting cheesy myself, I must say that I wouldn't change a thing. After all, it's my family who are responsible for molding me into the Latin hunk that I am today...

MERRY CHRISTMAS... err... AGAIN