Christmas and so much more
It’s been a while since I’ve had time to write in here. But it’s time to get everyone caught up on me. The last few weeks of the semester were hectic to say the least. Five presentation, 4 huge papers, and 2 massive projects. I remember sleeping in the grad lounge a lot and massive quantities of coffee. But I made it through….A’s in all my classes except one, and that was still a B+. So I’m pretty proud of myself. Just hope I can do it again next semester without wiping myself out completely.
I got home from Pullman about a week before Christmas. Had a bit of shopping to do, so made a solo trip into Spokane to pick up a few last minute gifts that I needed to buy. Also delivered a few cards and presents to friends in Spokane and Cheney. It was an enjoyable day.
The rest of Christmas brought several lessons on life, love and learning.
It’s been nearly 5 years since the last time I’ve hugged my father or he’s hugged me. Pretty much all physical contact between us was stopped when I told him that I was gay. The last time we actually hugged was when his own dad passed away and I comforted him. When I came home from my solo trip into Spokane, I learned that a close high school friend had committed suicide 2 days prior. It was my dad who had learned of the news first and was the one who told me, and without hesitation he comforted me. No one knows why my friend took his life, no note was left behind. But I know that he had been struggling with his sexuality for a long time. I don’t know if his parents ever knew that he was gay. I don’t know if anyone besides myself knew. But thinking that he might have taken his life because of his sexuality is heart wrenching. I know that his family didn’t approve of homosexuality, he was forbidden to see me after I came out. But we did still find ways to talk at school and online. And I thought that I had helped him through much of his difficulties.
For Christmas Day dinner, our family usually gathers at our house for a large feast. Uncles, aunts, cousins and on down the line show up. This year we only had 11 people show up for dinner. Others were with their families elsewhere and couldn’t make it. But this year we had a special family friend at the table. She is an elderly lady, widowed with no children. She is constantly coming over to our house to visit, my mom does her hair, and she always wants to know how my sister and I are doing. This year we invited her to dinner with our family. After much protest she agreed to show up and help with dinner and eat with us. She showed up several hours before dinner to make sure she could help out with everything. Following dinner and after most of the rest of the family had departed, my mom and I gave her a gift. Not much, a windchime and an outdoor clock. But the look of joy and happiness on her face said more than any words could. Her comment “It’s nice to have a family again” brought my mom and myself to tears with her. It was a true Christmas moment.
Today me, my parents and my grandmother went into Spokane to see Polar Express. If you’ve ever believed in Christmas and all the magic that the season brings; GO. In all honesty, I originally went because I knew Josh Groban sings in the movie and I’ve been listening to the song for the last month. Well, now that song has a lot more meaning. Yea, the book was like 15 pages or something like that. But what they’ve created is a beautiful movie that could make any heart believe in Christmas.
Well, that’s probably a lot more than anyone needed to know about the last 3 or 4 weeks of my life. But hey, it’s me and my take on thing. Merry Christmas and Enjoy the Season.
Brian
I got home from Pullman about a week before Christmas. Had a bit of shopping to do, so made a solo trip into Spokane to pick up a few last minute gifts that I needed to buy. Also delivered a few cards and presents to friends in Spokane and Cheney. It was an enjoyable day.
The rest of Christmas brought several lessons on life, love and learning.
It’s been nearly 5 years since the last time I’ve hugged my father or he’s hugged me. Pretty much all physical contact between us was stopped when I told him that I was gay. The last time we actually hugged was when his own dad passed away and I comforted him. When I came home from my solo trip into Spokane, I learned that a close high school friend had committed suicide 2 days prior. It was my dad who had learned of the news first and was the one who told me, and without hesitation he comforted me. No one knows why my friend took his life, no note was left behind. But I know that he had been struggling with his sexuality for a long time. I don’t know if his parents ever knew that he was gay. I don’t know if anyone besides myself knew. But thinking that he might have taken his life because of his sexuality is heart wrenching. I know that his family didn’t approve of homosexuality, he was forbidden to see me after I came out. But we did still find ways to talk at school and online. And I thought that I had helped him through much of his difficulties.
For Christmas Day dinner, our family usually gathers at our house for a large feast. Uncles, aunts, cousins and on down the line show up. This year we only had 11 people show up for dinner. Others were with their families elsewhere and couldn’t make it. But this year we had a special family friend at the table. She is an elderly lady, widowed with no children. She is constantly coming over to our house to visit, my mom does her hair, and she always wants to know how my sister and I are doing. This year we invited her to dinner with our family. After much protest she agreed to show up and help with dinner and eat with us. She showed up several hours before dinner to make sure she could help out with everything. Following dinner and after most of the rest of the family had departed, my mom and I gave her a gift. Not much, a windchime and an outdoor clock. But the look of joy and happiness on her face said more than any words could. Her comment “It’s nice to have a family again” brought my mom and myself to tears with her. It was a true Christmas moment.
Today me, my parents and my grandmother went into Spokane to see Polar Express. If you’ve ever believed in Christmas and all the magic that the season brings; GO. In all honesty, I originally went because I knew Josh Groban sings in the movie and I’ve been listening to the song for the last month. Well, now that song has a lot more meaning. Yea, the book was like 15 pages or something like that. But what they’ve created is a beautiful movie that could make any heart believe in Christmas.
Well, that’s probably a lot more than anyone needed to know about the last 3 or 4 weeks of my life. But hey, it’s me and my take on thing. Merry Christmas and Enjoy the Season.
Brian