Home for the Holidays
As I'm sure you probably guessed by now, I opted out of going to Massachusetts for Christmas. Getting the money would have been difficult (even if my parents would have helped, as they have every year) and the planning was way too last minute. We decided it probably wasn't a good idea for either of us. So, for the first time, I'm spending the holiday away from my family.
Which does kind of suck. I do have fond memories of Christmas with the family, it was always one day out of the year when we weren't trying to kill each other (Christmas eve and day anyway, the week or so leading up to Christmas were usually an ugly mess of near constant and near murderous fighting - most involving cleaning the house for decorating, something my mother never figured out how to do in a way that didn't end with all three of her children telling her to fuck off, she can do it herself). And despite that my mother and I don't normally get along (while under the same roof anyway) and have less than nothing in common, she's always been very good with buying me the right gifts, even if I am no fun to shop for because I'm not into anything "cute." With all of her griping about the shit I do like, she usually comes through in the end (the only big exception being her outright refusal to buy me Saw when I asked for it last year, having seen it around Halloween and finding that, unlike the way over the top painfully retarded sequels that followed, the first one was pretty good; her and my sister reacted like I asked them to find me a snuff film, my attempting to explain that she's bought me movies so much worse than that one, or that she's already bought me the most disgusting movie ever made as far as I've ever seen in more than ten years now, all fell on deaf ears).
I do have a package coming in the mail from her (my father already emailed me to tell me I got a gift card coming, cool shit). She called me yesterday to tell me it was coming and that I am not to touch it at all until Christmas morning, whereupon I will call her and we will open the package together.
I will probably try to go visit them sometime this year, maybe in the spring when not everyone is traveling and the weather might actually be nice enough to go walk around and do whatever passes for shit to do in that rotten little town. Plan it all well in advance. And that might work out okay, my sister is going to try and have Lily's baptism near Daniel's birthday in the hopes of getting the family up together at least one last time. Not too terribly thrilled about spending time hanging out with her husband's family, they might have gotten over themselves but I still consider them dicks (for those who were not here, they hated my sister, treated her like garbage and very actively tried to break up their relationship, said a whole bunch of truly nasty things to them, at least until after the wedding they tried to sabotage was over and they realized if they ever wanted to see their son or their grandchildren they might want to shut the fuck up - good thing they aren't my in-laws, I would not have been so forgiving). But hey, could be as good a time as any.
I haven't been out much, and so I've been blessedly free of holiday shoppers, blessedly free of holiday music, blessedly free of holiday movies. I like this, think I might have to make it a tradition. :-P
I wanted to do something for the solstice, but I missed it because I had completely forgotten what day it was. My sense of time isn't always good, but its been pretty out of whack lately, with me preoccupied by other shit. I haven't even been as connected to the season this time as I was last year (when I hadn't even had anything planned), little nudges here and there but nothing like what it has been. Going to have to make that up in the next couple of days. Winter is just not my season. :-(
Spiritual related post may come soon. Been thinking over the various ways I need to get my act together, start living the vows that I made.
So, how has everyone else been? Having a wonderful winter holiday?
Which does kind of suck. I do have fond memories of Christmas with the family, it was always one day out of the year when we weren't trying to kill each other (Christmas eve and day anyway, the week or so leading up to Christmas were usually an ugly mess of near constant and near murderous fighting - most involving cleaning the house for decorating, something my mother never figured out how to do in a way that didn't end with all three of her children telling her to fuck off, she can do it herself). And despite that my mother and I don't normally get along (while under the same roof anyway) and have less than nothing in common, she's always been very good with buying me the right gifts, even if I am no fun to shop for because I'm not into anything "cute." With all of her griping about the shit I do like, she usually comes through in the end (the only big exception being her outright refusal to buy me Saw when I asked for it last year, having seen it around Halloween and finding that, unlike the way over the top painfully retarded sequels that followed, the first one was pretty good; her and my sister reacted like I asked them to find me a snuff film, my attempting to explain that she's bought me movies so much worse than that one, or that she's already bought me the most disgusting movie ever made as far as I've ever seen in more than ten years now, all fell on deaf ears).
I do have a package coming in the mail from her (my father already emailed me to tell me I got a gift card coming, cool shit). She called me yesterday to tell me it was coming and that I am not to touch it at all until Christmas morning, whereupon I will call her and we will open the package together.
I will probably try to go visit them sometime this year, maybe in the spring when not everyone is traveling and the weather might actually be nice enough to go walk around and do whatever passes for shit to do in that rotten little town. Plan it all well in advance. And that might work out okay, my sister is going to try and have Lily's baptism near Daniel's birthday in the hopes of getting the family up together at least one last time. Not too terribly thrilled about spending time hanging out with her husband's family, they might have gotten over themselves but I still consider them dicks (for those who were not here, they hated my sister, treated her like garbage and very actively tried to break up their relationship, said a whole bunch of truly nasty things to them, at least until after the wedding they tried to sabotage was over and they realized if they ever wanted to see their son or their grandchildren they might want to shut the fuck up - good thing they aren't my in-laws, I would not have been so forgiving). But hey, could be as good a time as any.
I haven't been out much, and so I've been blessedly free of holiday shoppers, blessedly free of holiday music, blessedly free of holiday movies. I like this, think I might have to make it a tradition. :-P
I wanted to do something for the solstice, but I missed it because I had completely forgotten what day it was. My sense of time isn't always good, but its been pretty out of whack lately, with me preoccupied by other shit. I haven't even been as connected to the season this time as I was last year (when I hadn't even had anything planned), little nudges here and there but nothing like what it has been. Going to have to make that up in the next couple of days. Winter is just not my season. :-(
Spiritual related post may come soon. Been thinking over the various ways I need to get my act together, start living the vows that I made.
So, how has everyone else been? Having a wonderful winter holiday?