Happy Holidays

My sister and I decided to kick off this Christmas with the first annual Christmas Eve Day Flag Football Tournament. We are searching for a more...contemporary name. That one is a little long-winded, but it can't get much more appropriate and informative. We held the games at Severna Park High School. The turnout was a lot better than expected (about 20 people), but it wasn't quite enough people to make three teams for a round robin tournament. So we played two games with the same teams. Of course, the Renaut team won both games. The first was on a series of plays that could only be described as a Christmas miracle. After leading most of the game, our quarterback (yours truly) threw a costly interception that led to a score on the ensuing drive. Trailing 16-12 with 20 seconds left, we put our speed team on the field for the kick return. The ball went out of bounds, giving us one shot at the end zone from our own 20. It began as a totally botched play, with the pass rush coming in virtually untouched to get me. However, a quick-witted, sack-avoiding pitch back to my eligible center opened up the field for a little trickeration. A wonky duck-bomb by the former BYU safety fluttered downfield and was somehow snagged by one of our receivers on the 2 yard line. He tip-toed in to the end zone for the game winning score.

Game 2 was a different story. We jumped to a quick lead and never looked back, finishing a shortened second half with a 27-6 victory.

We all parted ways satisfied, and Christmas festivities ensued. Christmas eve dinner at my sister and her fiancee's house was delicious. We had a polyphase (that's a purely phonetic description, someone please correct me) roast and fried oyster casserole along with some hot cider with mulling spices and green beans sauteed in some sort of sweet Asian sauce. Pumpkin pie was the perfect dessert. We opened a present each, as is the Renaut tradition, and then settled in to watch the end of the Chargers win.



Christmas morning was more of the same. I was a little late getting to Liz's for the 10:30 start time, but I pulled up at the same time as my mother and grandmother, so all guilt was washed away. The base of the tree was surrounded with presents, and we quickly got to work. I got a good haul, bringing in everything I asked for and more. Tops on the list were my white, authentic 75th anniversary Sean Taylor jersey and a 21 towel from the tribute game at FedEx Field (thank you J/B). I also got some great Under Armour gear and my first set of *used* golf clubs so that I can pick up a new hobby (thanks E/Z). I got more sports memorabilia wall art than I know what to do with, and am now very excited to move in to a place with more wall space (read: buy my own house and decorate my sports/gaming room) (thanks M/D). In the meantime, I am loaded up with health foods and workout supplements to get my act in gear come New Years resolution time (thanks M/E). I also got some good airplane reading (Mayflower, by Nathaniel Philbrick) that I will open as soon as I finish Lloyd Pie's A Darker Shade of Red, about the truth behind redshirt football players back in the 50s and 60s when football was an entirely different sport. I think the most unique gift is the Easton family (one of my ancestral lines, very prominent family from Rhode Island, that claims the first governor of Rhode Island, appointed by the King of England) coat of arms I can now proudly display on my wall when I rearrange my current situation (thanks D).

Lots of candy and toys in the stocking, too, that I will regret enjoying all week.

On a darker note, I am feeling old. My half birthday is on the 27th, which puts me that much closer to 25. Nothing like the holidays to make you feel depressed about these kinds of things. Fortunately, I'm still a child at heart.