Christmas Came Early This Year

Dearest Friends! No, I did not cease to exist after my sister's wedding. It just felt like it. We've finally got Bridezilla and her Groovy Groomy shipped off on their honeymoon to Disneyworld. Here is a picture from less hectic times of some of your favorite Sego girls at the Bridal Shower. Zoey was pooped!

Ah, but that's what love and partying will do for a person.

Ashley actually called yesterday to tell us that she and Robert were chosen to be the grand marshalls of the 3 p.m. parade in the Magic Kingdom. I guess if there's a legitimate excuse to call one's family from the honeymoon, that's it.

Anyway, now that the wedding is over, I'm trying to get in the Christmas spirit. I've finally kicked this cold, and everything is done, save one last trip to the grocery store to buy food for the annual Sego Family Christmas Eve festivities (I'm making pigs in blankets and fried ravioli with aoli), but actually feeling like Christmas is a bit of a struggle. Maybe I'll have to spend the evening listening to Delilah.

Anyway, I guess it doesn't matter in a way, because the truth is I've already received the best present I could possibly get:

Yes, that's Ray. Ray in his natural habitat, actually. Flying Star. And no, I don't "own" him. Nor would I want to. But in the spirit of spewing forth my personal life for all the world to read, we are trying to work on the friend thing. I feel like there isn't anything else I could want.

And it's hard, you know? When you're missing someone, it's easy to fool yourself into thinking that if only they were back in your life, it would all be easy and better. Well, it's better, but it's hard. Still, I appreciate Ray. If nothing else, he's like my own personal muse (we're looking to find a male version in mythology of the muse)-- my mind starts turning over and ideas start flowing. Most the time, it has very little to do with what we are doing (though I got a nice vision of him playing the accordion and living as a nomad in Europe while we listened to music in his car the other night), or even with him (I started thinking about a new way to tell a story last night-- completely unrelated). But the best times are when we can bounce ideas off one another. Last night when I was stuck on archetypes and had basically convinced myself that I am actually never going to be the temptress or the platonic ideal, or even the virgin (even though I am the virgin, but not the helpless one of Jungian myth), I started to convince myself that while I am still the protagonist and heroine of my own life, I mostly fall into the category of soothsayer for everyone else. But Ray, who rejects Jung, suggested that I tackle the idea of the Goddess. I hadn't thought of it. I guess because it will require action on my part. It seems like the goddess is the temptress, virgin, and platonic ideal rolled into one-- an actualized hero. I like it. She can also be the muse. It's a tall order, but it feels like a more complete role to aspire to.

Anyway, like I said, those are the best of times. It's hard though, too. Negotiating that weird line between what we are and what we were is tricky. We're avoiding thinking about what we might be, trying to live in the moment. I'm cool with that, but I miss some of the things that used to be natural. I hate how careful we have to be right now, but I think time will make it easier.

In the meantime, we went to River of Lights last night. Here's the Yellow Submarine on the water:And here I am coming out of a slide made out of a hollow tree. I hate this picture of myself because I look like a hobbit. I swear I'm not that short, nor is my body so out of proportion. I was warm, ok? Give me a break. You try wearing 80 layers and looking glamorous, all while trying to get out of a slide before the lady behind you barrels into you. Maybe I should've followed Ray's example and taken the stairs, but I'm a young-at-heart sort of goddess.
Speaking of Ray, here he is inside the giant pumpkin. This is a typical photo stop for me and Miriam:

And here is our famous favorite cake from Flying Star. I haven't been able to eat it without him, so that alone makes our friendship worth it. Right?

It was a good evening on the whole. Santa did well. My friend is all I wanted. Of course, I'll be happy to post tomorrow and let you know if I finally join the 21st century with an iPod.