Alright, so in case it’s not clear yet, I’ll make the announcement now:

a lot of my articles are nostalgic.

Alright, now that we’ve cleared that up, come with me on a trip down my memory lane…

It must have been the Christmas of 2010 or maybe 2011…I was around twelve years old, and my sister and I got a shared gift: a rock tumbler. As it turned out, I already had a rock tumbler, so I let Sophia have the new one. Of course we were very excited about the prospects of tumbling our own batches of rocks, but I was leagues more excited. I hadn’t used my tumbler in years and had forgotten its whereabouts, but I decided to seize the day. Due to my parents’ excellent gift-giving skills, Sophia and I had also received some big bottles of the sands and powders necessary for each step of the rock tumbling process. So, after gift-giving and our family’s traditional Christmas breakfast of bagels and lox, we decided to go on a hike. Only in Phoenix is Christmas day ideal outdoors-ing weather. It was a beautiful day, mid-60’s (Fahrenheit), and we hiked Piestewa Peak in Phoenix. After our hike, we gathered rocks to try to tumble. I don't remember details of the tumbling process or results, but I do remember climbing all over that mountain with my family, collecting the perfect chunks of granite, wearing my cozy new brown and blue sweatshirt that my mom had given me, and coming coming home to play with Sophia while my parents took a much-needed Christmas nap. It wasn't any kind of traditional Christmas activity, and it wasn't planned ahead of time—we went because Sophia and I were so eager to collect rocks and start tumbling. Despite all the impromptu nature of this day, I almost exclusively associate Christmas day with that particular one. Picturing Christmas, I think of our delicious family cookies, I think of the hazards of tree-decorating with cats around, and I think of this hike. I love that my parents took advantage of a family-centered holiday and took Sophia and I to do something we really wanted to do that day. What better way to spend Christmas day than rock-collecting with your family?