Aftermath
So another holiday has passed and I made it through virtually unscathed. ::wipes brow:: Ok, so Thanksgiving wasn't that bad. Actually, it wasn't bad at all. Of all our family holidays, this one has now become the easiest to deal with, as the drama basically comes to a complete standstill due to the presence of my oldest cousin's wife's family (wow...confusing). They're great people and we've all gotten more comfortable with each other in the years since we started having the holiday at my cousins' house, but they still aren't blood family so there's a level of politeness involved that is virtually nonexistant in all our other gatherings.
For my part, it helped that I feel much better this year. Dealing with my family is much easier when I can maintain a level head and a sense of humor. Still, it was wonderful to come back to the apartment and just settle in for some peace, quiet, and some cat cuddles.
The ladies in my family tried to talk me into going shopping with them tomorrow during all those big, early morning blitz sales. Hah, no. While I may have found unknown levels of calm and patience in the past six months, nothing ruins that collectedness faster than hordes of (insane) shoppers battling it out over tvs and mp3s players at the ass-crack of dawn.
I'd rather get my rush from boy-on-boy goodness, anyway. ;)
For my part, it helped that I feel much better this year. Dealing with my family is much easier when I can maintain a level head and a sense of humor. Still, it was wonderful to come back to the apartment and just settle in for some peace, quiet, and some cat cuddles.
The ladies in my family tried to talk me into going shopping with them tomorrow during all those big, early morning blitz sales. Hah, no. While I may have found unknown levels of calm and patience in the past six months, nothing ruins that collectedness faster than hordes of (insane) shoppers battling it out over tvs and mp3s players at the ass-crack of dawn.
I'd rather get my rush from boy-on-boy goodness, anyway. ;)