home for the holidays

We're spending Christmas at home. My dad and grandmother flew in to visit for the weekend. It's wonderful to have our own Christmas instead of being the visitor over the holidays. I think it will be even better when our own place is literally our own and not an apartment.

Dad & Grandma are such good sports. They spent all day traveling, living off of stale danishes from airports and braving L.A. traffic to see us. At the end of the day, my dad said, "Just being able to hug Laura made the whole trip worth it." I hope we're able to keep them entertained, well-fed, and plied up with cute photos of a little girl for the rest of the holiday.

The other big news is my dad coming out of the closet. I haven't quite had a chance to think about it much, yet. I'm mostly just glad that he feels ok telling us. I've heard it's hard for a kid to tell his parents he's gay; I can't imagine the other way around would be any easier. Honestly, though, I was far more affected by the news last year that he had cataracts and was going blind. That was scary. This is, in a strange way, a relief. Like most kids, I just want my parents to be happy.

Last, and probably least, I've opted to follow the traditions so many other people out there have written about--the orange in the toe of the stocking. I can't wait to play Santa Claus tomorrow night.