When I was a kid one of the highlights of my year was the Christmas night gathering with the Hood’s at Big Mamma’s house. My mother has nine brothers and sisters, all of whom are married with children. When our immediate family gathered together for Christmas there were over seventy of us. It was always an awesome party with so many people, so much noise, so much food and so many presents. Fast forward to the present. I have exactly zero brothers or sisters. When my family gets together at my parents house for Christmas there are exactly six of us. Did I mention we live next door to my parents? We also go to church with my parents and almost every Sunday eat lunch with my parents. As blasphemous as this might sound to some, getting together at Christmas is just not that big a deal. It is almost like every other day with the exception of exchanging gifts. Because of this, we decided several years ago to create our own Christmas tradition to make the day more special. How did we do it? We forgo the usual holiday menu (ham, turkey, etc) and have steak and shrimp instead. Mom gets out the fine China and uses the nice table cloths and silverware, Dad grills the steaks and shrimp and we all eat well.
As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts (http://brandonbritton.blogspot.com/2011/12/36-day-7.html), my mom is pretty special and amazing and dedicates herself to providing those she loves with the things they want. For weeks she’d been telling us to be at her house on Friday the 23rd at 4:30, dressed nice and not full of junk food. We get in the car and start down the road when mom tells us she is taking us somewhere we’ve always said we wanted to go....Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. I have always wanted to eat a steak from Ruth’s Chris, but would never go. It is a luxury I just couldn’t justify. This is where mom steps in to do for you what you couldn’t or wouldn’t do for yourself.
I can honestly say this was one of the most fun nights I’ve had in a long time, and one of the best Christmases we’ve ever had as a family. We laughed and talked on the ride to Nashville. We had incredible steaks and shrimp (and dessert) at the restaurant, and, how cool is this, sat a couple of tables from Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert and the entire Jaguars offensive line. Afterward we went to the Shadrach’s Christmas Lights display, which we enjoyed from a carriage ride. The whole night was filled with laughter and conversation, good food and good company. It was just a family that loves one another and loves being together just being together. I already know what I want for Christmas next year.
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