Christmas 2025

A treasured memory

Went to my annual office party the other day.

This year, we had it at Valbella At The Park, which I’d never been to.

Ever since COVID not everyone has been in the office at the same time, so it was nice seeing everyone all at once.

The food and the company were great, as usual…

Me: (to new attorney) I graduated Fordham Law School in 1999.
Him: Oh, that’s when I was born.
Me: (nodding slowly) I’m gonna need another drink.

…for the most part.

Boss: What book do you recommend?
Me: Hmm, for fiction, you really can’t go wrong with The Godfather but for non-fiction, I think that every lawyer, really every person, should read Getting to Yes.
Female Partner: You mean, Getting Past No?
Me: Oh, that was the sequel – Getting to Yes is a book on negotiation but really, it’s for anyone who wants to be able to negotiate well. It’s good for any relationship, including interpersonal ones.

It was only supposed to be for a few hours, but we were there some five or six hours.

Had to head home a bit earlier than everyone else to tuck the kid into bed because we were heading off later on that week to Alison’s parents for Christmas.

Moving forward, I’m going to refer to Alison’s mom as A-MIL and Sara’s mom as S-MIL.

Her family and I don’t talk much about Alison during the holidays but that’s because we don’t really need to. We know we’re all thinking of her.

A-MIL: You should invite Sara.
Me: Are you sure?
Her: Of course, we have plenty of room.

I think it says a lot about Alison and her family that everyone – from Alison’s sister to her parents – have done their best to make Sara feel welcome.

And it says a lot about Sara that she came and was just amazeballs with them.

Sara: I brought flowers.
A-MIL: Oh, you didn’t have to do that. They’re beautiful, thank you! I’ll get them into a vase.

A fella could really fall for a girl like that.

There’s a ton more I can say about all that, but I suppose that’s a story for another time.

It was also nice that the kid was completely oblivious to all of this because everyone was just great.

Him: I got a baseball pitching machine!
Me: Thank god someone’s here to teach you how to play baseball, because it’s not me.

It was funny because Sara and A-MIL had to teach him how to properly hit the ball – A-MIL played a lot, while Sara was on the softball team.

Me: How long were you on (the softball team) for?
Her: Eight years. You never played baseball before?
Me: Lady, you need friends to play baseball.

I got my own gifts to focus on, including stuff from the kid.

Of course, we had to teach them how to play Big 2.

A-SIL didn’t get it for the first two rounds and then immediately started winning.

Me: Sara will play this anytime, anyplace.
Sara: This is true.
A-SIL: Oh, I love games.
Me: Great, we’ll have to play this more.

After a while, Sara and I headed back to Manhattan while the kid stayed for a few more days with the in-laws.

Me: (on train) Hey, I just wanted you to know that you helping the kid practice hitting the ball will be one of my treasured memories.
Her: Oh, it’s not a big deal.
Me: It is. I couldn’t do it, and you didn’t need to, so thanks.
Her: You’re welcome, Logan Lo. Merry Christmas.
Me: Happy Christmas.
Her: No one says that, Logan.
Me: Look, “merry” is an anachronistic word that only eve…
Her: (groans, rolls eyes)

Location: earlier today, Chinatown, eating carbs
Mood: happy
Music: hearts will be glowing when loved ones are near (Spotify)
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