The Eds: ’Tis the Season

This is the EDS with Eddie Judge and Edwin Adoyave. Welcome back to the EDS podcasts. I'm Eddie and I'm Edwin.

We are the EDS. So Hey, how you doing, Edwin? How's it going. I know there's a lot going on in your life and I just want to know how you're doing.

I'm doing as good as I could be doing, and just getting ready for the holidays, you know, yeah, yeah, me and focusing on the things that I can control, right, and all that other stuff kind of figures itself out as it figures itself out. But I've always been big on just focusing on what you can control and all that other stuff you can't control, you just leave that up to God.

And that's what gives you peace.

I think when you try to control things that you can't control is when you rob yourself of the inner piece. So I've been intentional with just with that part and staying in faith, staying in and focusing on the children and stuff like that. So are so so. I mean it's obviously difficult times, but you know, we we do what we always do, which is you just remain pushing.

We shoot both the best, mostly because it's not an easy thing to go through, and especially the timing. You know, it's just it couldn't be any worse because this sucks. Yeah, so I really feel bad and I wish you both, you know, I hope you guys get through this pretty good.

Yeah, thank you, No, I appreciate it. Okay, so we got to get show holidays. Let's talk about it.

Let's talk about the holidays for this topic.

We're going to be talking about this time of the year, from our traditions growing up, our own family, maybe some gifts ideas and anything we want to talk about with respect to the holidays. And I'll start it off with you know, growing up, I really the the only traditions I had were you know, being from a Latin family, we can come up with any excuse to celebrate. So we definitely had parties, We had the gifts, and we

But do you do you remember growing up and did you so? It's traditions.

So I grew up in Columbia, so I came to the US when I was six. But what I do remember as a kid, my dad would throw like amazing parties for Christmas. Like we'd have worcus, like we'd have like bands at the house and it'd be just everyone partying at the you know, for Christmas. It's like what they do right, like you eat, but then they'd start to party late. And then when I came to the US, sort of you know, that kind of went away the

Yes, and now.

It's the flip side of that, you know, being with Teddy for as long as I was, it you open one present if you could make it to midnight and which most can't, and then you open all of them the next morning. So definitely two different worlds.

I kind of like to stay till staying up till twelve.

Well not anymore because I'm once it's o'clock, I'm like dad. But back in the day, I used to love waiting until twelve and opening up all the gifts.

So how do you how did you do it before? Did everybody come to your house? Did you go to Teddy's family's house? I mean it gets partically.

Yeah, So typically we would do you know, if it's Thanksgiving out our dad's house, we'd have Christmas at our house and then vice versa. If it's Christmas or if it's Thanksgiving at our house, then we're going with our dad on Christmas.

So that's always been sort of the back and forth.

Huh. So, yeah, so you share the okay and he would come to share the house and.

Then they'll come to the house.

I think last year we celebrated Christmas at our house and then this year Thanksgiving will be at at John's house.

So it's cool.

So has John and your family been at the same sell it festivities?

No, because when when it's when we're here, it's rare that John comes. So it's typically if John comes because we're going to him. Although last year was sort of different. I think it was like the first time that he that he was with us at our house. We're typically going to his house. But you know, it's it's always a fun time going to his houses and stuff. And yeah, kids get to play and do all their things. We have this great football for Thanksgiving. We have this great

Ten on ten. Fun. Yeah. I remember one year Cruz just got ran over and he's.

Just like crying, poor thing. I mean he just got completely ran over and there is no Yeah, there is no safety.

You're in that football game. If you're five years old and you're in the way, you're getting run over. Yeah, but it's fine.

You know, so your family met John, your your mom and dad, and that's out of your family met My.

Mom has, My entire family has except for my dad. And we met John when we first got married thirteen years ago in Paris. That's when they met him, because everybody flew to Paris and that's when we got married. And then that's when my mom siblings all met John and it was.

A great, great day as well. But yeah, and then you know, in regards to Thanksgiving, you know, I like the.

Tradition of the football right that we play all the time, and you know, the food's great. It's just it's I definitely like Christmas more than Thanksgiving. I know you said you're a Thanksgiving guy. I'm more of a of Christmas guy.

So for Thanksgiving, do you do the traditional thirty turkey meal or do you infuse it with some if.

We go to John's house, Okay, our house, I'll ish, you know, we'll mix in some Tamali's, we'll mix in some Colombian food, We'll mix in a little bit of everything.

Ah. So yeah, I just always love that there's this sweet rice with with grapes, not grapes those dried up what's a dried up grape? It was my favorite dish. And then that's I discovered yuka from going to the Columbian Dinner. Yeah, and it was good. So yeah, we

So are you an early decorator guy? Like do you start decorating your house? Are you like buy the Christmas tree November first, the day after Halloween?

You know, I'll started with this.

There was a time period, I think it was in my mid twenties where I just didn't like the holidays. So when holiday seasons come up, I was like, oh, you know, it's it becomes so stressful, like where are we going to go to your families? My families? Where we going to spend time with, and it got so complicated. I think I've had two years in my entire life where on holidays I just stayed home by myself. I didn't want to do anything right, So that kind of

So are you putting up the decorations or is that camera when it comes to you?

Or are you paying somebody to do it? No, we do it.

I did one year when I was single making a lot of money, and it was.

In this house.

I decided to hire a decorator and paid her like two grand or twenty five hundred dollars and decorated the entire house and it looked like Norm Strum in here.

It was beautiful.

I think it's worth doing that. I remember it was funny I gave one day. I'm like when I think it was when we first started dating. I don't know if you were married yet. I think it was when we first started dating. But it's a funny story. I told Teddy, can you get us like a nice Christmas tree? And I gave us some money to go do it. I'm not joking. She brings back. I don't know if it got delivered or she actually got it herself, but I was expecting like this huge tree because we had

Well, I'll tell you when when we first got together, Tara and I made sure that we started doing those holiday traditions ourselves, you know, because we wanted to keep it as normal as possible for our kids. So we decorated, and we prepared and I did. I am in charge of the outside. I used to help her more on the inside as well, like hanging. I put the tree up and she would put the decorations up right.

But I have a lot of injuries happen outside. It's another reason I'm scared to do it. I'm like, I'd rather pay someone. Yeah, me and me on a on.

Some stairs outside. Yeah, that's a recipe for disaster. Have you did you ever fall.

I've never fallen, but I think it was two years ago that I decided to hang up the hanging of the lights outside because I went and I rented a twenty foot ladder because you know, we're two story house and just getting the damn ladder up to work it was everything. And I'm strong, I work out, I'm pretty fit, and it took everything in my power to get that ladder up. And of course I climb up the ladder to put the lights up, and suddenly, I don't know if it's an age thing, but suddenly I got this

I'm hiring people. I can't do this anymore. So I do hire.

People to put the lights up now, and I'm responsible for getting all the stuff out of storage and putting it in the house. And we've created a new kind of tradition because Sophia is our last kid that still live with does and if it wasn't for her, we wouldn't put anything up for Thanksgiving. We wouldn't put anything up,

Decorating that right.

So that's funny. What about let's see New Year's do you guys still when was the last time you partied on New Year's Eve?

We haven't in a while because it's it's been about the kids, and you know, they're at that age too where it's kind of hard.

To leave them.

Yeah, you know, four ten twelve, So really I want to say the last time I'm getting confused. But maybe it was an Aspen three years ago and I think we had just a blast. Yeah, but it's I think that was two three years ago and we I mean we partied. It was fun, but I might be getting I don't know if that was Christmas. I think it was New Year's but we had a blast. No, it was new you know what, it was New Year's? What am I talking about? We had a blast. But mostly,

So we usually do the nine o'clock New yorka we do. We do the New York Quadrop and then we go to bed.

So but it's interesting, you know, I you know, it's different when you're single, right when you're single.

Shoot, what are you gonna do on New Year's Eve? You know?

But in fact, when I first met Teddy, I was obviously single at the time I met her December twenty sixth, Like who goes out December twenty sixth?

But ingo, people, what else are you.

Gonna do on December twenty sixth? There's nothing to do and you have some free time, yeah, because you know, work's not that heavy at the time, so it's like the holidays.

Yeah yeah, yeah.

So I was saying earlier, I've worked my ass off so much when I was younger that holidays were just the end of the day, you know, and then you find yourself, Okay, well everything's closed, nobody's working. What am I going to do with myself? Do you guys have any traditions now, like the elf on the shelf for anything like that for the kids.

Yeah, so we do. So Teddy's really good with that stuff stocking.

Yeah, so when they come down, she's got the whole stocking stuff down.

She's really good.

At that stuff, and the kids would come down and get their stuff. I never had any of that growing up, you know. I just had the Hey, your presence open them up, you know. And I don't know, you know, maybe because we grew in because I grew up in Columbia the first six years, there is no Santa Claus in Columbia really, right, It's more about Nino Dios than maybe Jesus. Right, So Santa Claus was never a big thing for me as a kid, and I kind of

You know what about Dove? Oh yeah, yeah that's awesome. But what kind of gift giver have you been?

And evolved too?

So I think I'm a great gift giver.

I'm not the best to shop for because I'm very picky what stuff and I always tell people, hey, you're gonna buy me clothes, just don't do it. I'd rather buy my own clothes, right, Yeah, yeah.

I love getting socks.

My mom always gives me socks because it's like the one thing I really don't.

Buy, like like the last thing, like socks.

So my mom always gives me socks, which is cool. And I just like I like like stuff that, you know, like somebody putting a collage of pictures together for me.

Because that's something I wouldn't do, right, simple sentimental stuff.

It's the sentimental stuff because the stuff to buy I could buy it myself. And yeah, like usually like when people buy me clothes, it's just like clothes, Like do I need more clothes?

No?

And then I feel bad because a lot of times I won't even wear it, you know.

But I think as far as me giving gifts, I think I've been pretty good with that. I like, you know, uh, giving gifts for sure.

When when it comes to you and Teddy, did you guys struggle giving each other gifts or or or is it an easy thing to do?

What's sort of changed?

I think now what I like to do typically is just take her shopping. That way, she gets what she wants and and looks good, and you know, sometimes it's it's just with designer stuff, it's tough, it is buying stuff if you don't fit into it. Yeah, so because every size is different, right, Like what?

Yeah?

So I think I like doing that because I and maybe and maybe in a I don't know, I mean, I just I think with me, i'd like the same way as well, Like I'd rather choose my stuff. Then yeah, you know, you're trying to buy me something that I know I'm not going to wear.

So it's become very challenging sort of you know for us too, because it's not always a holiday that I want to buy my wife something. Right, it's a birth day, it's something else, and we can go anywhere and pick something up and give to each other because we're thinking about each other.

Right.

But when it comes to gift giving, I think we're at the point in our life where I'll buy my own stuff and she can wrap it. And then she buys her own stuff and sometimes I wrap it, sometimes.

She wraps it. Yeah. It just makes it.

So much easier, unlike sentimental holidays like I I tried to do this every.

Valentine's Day.

I try to find a photo or something and create a collage or have it printed in a canvas of her and I or her and I and the family, And those are the gifts I like to give her on those holidays. Her birthday, for example, this year, it's hard every year because I asked her what do you want, and she never tells me. But this year for her birthday, she ended up getting that facial thing laser thing, So I think she did it intentionally so I wouldn't be

You know what's interesting too about that, I feel the same way. Like what I say, I'm a good gift giver, but that's based on how I feel not being forced to. So sometimes I feel like Valentine's and Christmas and you know, I just I like giving gifts at random times.

Yeah, you know where sometimes it's just like I'm being forced to just.

Because Yeah it's I don't like that.

I hate that. Yeah, I like it when it just comes from me. And that's why I like.

My best gifts are always random gifts. And I almost have to remind I used to have to remind Teddy, like, hey, this is a little bit of a Christmas gift. I just you know, bought it a little early, you know, don't forget about this one. And of course she forgets, and you know, I got to get her the actual Christmas one too, but but I like more of that than those are. My best gifts are the ones that just kind of come because I want to versus I got, you know, at people telling me I have.

To because it's yeah, it's a buying season. So let me ask you this.

Historically, I've been that typical guy that just waits till Christmas Eve and then I'm like, oh shit, I got to go shopping. And I had a tradition with my dad for many years before he stopped drinking, where we would go to the mall on Christmas Eve as soon as it opened. It was literally like that Mervyn's commercial open open. We'd go in early morning because we were just early people and start shopping. And I'll never forget one day we both went to lunch, both had a

How did this happen?

So we got to stop drinking on Christmas Eve, but it was it was kind of fun to do that, not just because I got to spend time with my dad, but it was just like.

Okay, the pressure's on.

I got to find something for my wife or my girlfriend or who or my family, and it was like, go go, go, get it done, get it done. And it all worked out. I got everybody at present, but it was under pressure. Now at this day and age, I just go to Amazon.

So much easier, so much easier. Yeah, I was just saying, it's funny.

It was the same way for such a long time. Just get last minute presence. Yeah twenty four that was me, you know. But yeah, ted Teddy's like the queen of Amazon, so we don't have that problem anymore.

So do you like to go to the store and shop or is it easier for you to find? Oh?

I love, like, personally for me shopping, I love going to a store and to find stuff on and yeah, I hate shopping online because it's just every everything fits different, you know.

Yeah.

Yeah, so I definitely like going to the store. Yeah.

I think it brings some nostalgia to like how we grew up. We have to go to the store and buy it.

We didn't. You can't have it delivered.

I love taking my kids to shop. I love being able to like take somebody to get.

Them what they want. Yes, that way, it's like one and it's funny.

I just took my daughter's shopping last week because she was going to uh Sabrina Carpenter concert.

I think that's her name, which I should have known better.

I had a bad feeling about that because I was had a feeling she was going to do some crazy on stage.

Yeah, my daughter's twelve. I should have known better.

And anyway, but I took a shopping for that, And like, I like to think that I'm pretty stylish, Like, yeah, I know how to dress, and that's always been you know, I was best dressed at my high school. Yeah, so and I've kept I think I've kept up that tradition pretty well. So I'm taking my daughter and like I was trying to choose outfits for her because I think I know what's cool. Apparently no, yeah, he had she said, and I quote dad, I have my own vision of what.

I want to wear.

Yeah, I'm going let him be the How do you do a gift giving for holidays for your spouse? So do you ask the kids what they want to get their mom or do you just buy something and say, hey, this is for.

You list, They'll they'll do a little wish list and stuff.

So yeah, and they come up with some pretty good ideas. Or are they like, I don't know what to get mom.

No, they're usually pretty good with the ideas.

Okay, this this teddy. Do the same thing with the kids. And do you are you surprised when they give you gifts?

Num?

Are you that difficult to buy for it? I'm probably not theiest person. That's awesome.

Yeah, it's so funny, Like it's just nowadays it's just like even getting gifts, I don't I'm even opening them is like to get but it's not. It's Yeah, it's definitely changed since I was a kid. Let's pretty do that way now.

I like give.

I Actually, I think there's a part of me just doesn't you know when people buying stuff, I'm just like, you know, so you you don't have to Like, I'm more like, save your money.

You don't need to buy me anything.

Yeah, you're more a giver than a receiver. Yeah, yeah, okay, I I have discovered myself being more like that too. To the point that, you know, Christmas is here, my wife doesn't know what to get me, and she's wrapping in all these gifts. I'm like, babe, here's one gift, just wrap it. I'll open one gift. I'm cool with that. And then the kids have all these gifts they opened, and of course I get her some gifts, and and all of a sudden, I have like seven other gifts.

I love that. I love it. Yeah, all right, well I think that's a wrap. Okay, yeah, awesome.

I wish you the best for these holidays, and yeah, stay healthy, brother, catching up it's always.

Great catching up, all right, Happy holidays, you guys. Happy holidays, bro.

Take care,