Christmas Letter 2012.......

Because our lives are fairly predictable, and because I relish the opportunity to look into the future, I am going to write our Christmas letter for 2012 in advance. Feel free to contact me this time next year to point out how many times I was wrong. As long as you also allow me to point out how many times I was RIGHT.

January - Bragger and Hubby spent New Year's Day celebrating Hubby's birthday by watching hour upon hour of professional football. The UGA football team started the New Year off right with a win over Michigan State in the Outback Bowl (so sue me). The eagerly awaited 2012 college gymnastics season got off to a hot start. Bragger, accompanied by some combination of Hubby/Frogger Blogger/Katydid attended two meets at home, with a couple of trips to Alabama on consecutive weeks thrown in. Hubby dropped us off in Tuscaloosa for one of them and went on to Mississippi to his favorite casino, where he won enough money to pay for the gas it took to get home. Sweet Girl got a great job in her chosen field and continued her studies at Embry Riddle. Enough warmer-than-average days meant that Bragger exceeded her January cycling goal of 125 miles.

February - Bragger held her breath as snowflakes fell, afraid that two scheduled holidays in the dreary month of February would be turned into weather make-up days. The snow melted upon contact, though, and school did not have to be closed due to weather. Bragger took a comp day and traveled to Florida for a dual purpose: to see Sweet Girl (most important reason) and to see the Gym Dogs compete against the University of Florida. I am not about to jinx my favorite team by predicting the outcome. Unfortunately, this weekend trip would mean that Bragger would miss one of the first organized cycling events of the year, but as the weather turned drizzly and miserable that weekend, it was a good miss after all. Bragger's lofty goal of 175 cycling miles in February appeared to be in jeopardy, but with the addition of a 29th day in February, she made it...barely.

March - The regular season ended for college gymnastics, and the finish at the SEC championships just outside Atlanta at the end of March was one of the closest in recent memory. Bragger and Hubby attended a baseball game between UGA and Kennesaw State, where they got to watch the godson play college baseball when he started as catcher. Bragger, Katydid, and Rozmo rode in the Tour de Pike bicycle ride on St. Patrick's Day, and the t-shirts weren't even green. Buttheads.

April - Bragger convinced Katydid and Frogger Blogger to accompany her on her birthday to (Auburn or N.C. State or Illinois) for the NCAA Gymnastics Regional Championships. Utah and Washington were also possible locations, but even the most devoted (obsessed?) fan has her limitations. Bragger and co-workers walked in the March for Babies on April 13th. Bragger and Katydid attempted to attend both the Spring Tune-Up bicycle ride AND the NCAA Gymnastics Championships in the same weekend, riding furiously each morning for three days and then racing the 60 miles (by car) to attend the competition. It occurred to them only later than riding their bicycles TO the arena would have accomplished both goals. The NCAA championships resulted in pleasant surprises and at least one NCAA champion for UGA.

May - Bragger counted the hours and minutes down to May 25th, on which day she retired entirely tear-free from her teaching job. She graciously attended BOTH high school graduations, knowing it was the last year she would feel obligated to do that. She and Katydid participated in the second Tour d'Oconee bicycle ride, and Bragger once again resisted the temptation to jump off the bridge in High Shoals just because it would take her back to her 17th birthday. Bragger and Hubby celebrated 15 years of marriage at the end of the month, and Hubby was disappointed they couldn't take a celebratory trip to the casino because it was too close to the beginning of BRAG.

June - Bragger and Katydid rode in BRAG again, traveling from Chattanooga (I thought it was the Bicycle Ride Across GEORGIA?) to Clayton. Only they didn't go all the way to the end, because when the ride came through Bragger's town on Thursday, she and Katydid jumped ship. Actually, they ended the ride early so they could travel to the Nash Bash, the family reunion, held again this year in South Carolina. Bragger barely escaped being arrested for trespassing when she was found sleeping on the porch of the marsh house she so nearly bought for herself last summer. She was inconsolable when she learned the cottage had been purchased by someone who intended to live there on a full-time basis and would NOT put it in the rental pool. Bragger went to see Sweet Girl at the end of the month to celebrate Sweet Girl's birthday, but the trip was marred by a nasty jelly fish sting Bragger suffered when she fell asleep and rolled off a float.

July - Rozmo, Hubby, and Bragger took the RV all the way to Wisconsin for a bicycle ride that started 30 miles from where Bragger's favorite cousin lives. It was a wonderful week of visiting with family, riding through beautiful countryside, and having a full-time sag driver on hand. Hubby finally admitted he should have been doing this years ago, which statement Bragger managed to capture on her iPhone.

August - Bragger and Hubby made a couple of mid-week trips in the RV just because they could. Bragger rode her bike to school just to visit, until her former co-workers asked her please to take her ear-to-ear grin somewhere else, thank you very much. Bragger did NOT miss her job, but she did miss her co-workers. And some of the students. A few. Two. Maybe one.

September - Football season began much better than last year's 0-2 start, and Bragger and Hubby managed to procure an RV spot in the same lot as last year. The attendant at the gate still couldn't remember their last name, but she was very sweet about it. Gus became accustomed to being left in the RV and finally mastered using the remote control to change the channel to Animal Planet while his owners went to the ballgames. Christmas commercials began airing on television.

October - Katydid and Bragger attended BikeFest again this year, held again on the banks of the Chattahoochee River in Columbus, Georgia. Bragger rode the century ride again and still doesn't know why. The UGA football team made it two in a row over one of their fiercest rivals. (Oh yes I DID.)

November - Some random Republican won the presidential election on November 6th. Bragger rode her bicycle a bunch and there were many football games. Bragger was already obsessively following the posted videos of the Gym Dogs, whose season didn't start for another two months, and even attended practice sessions on at least two occasions. Hubby considered professional help but decided it was both a lost cause and too expensive.

December - Bragger and Hubby took their annual Christmas vacation, this time to someplace tropical. Bragger insisted on taking a bike ride, where she hit a pothole and scraped up her elbow and one knee. Nothing else was hurt, except her pride, and Hubby didn't even mention it. More than thirty thousand times.

Happy 2013!