My Christmas

Every kid loves nothing more than waking up to a bunch of boxes on Christmas morning and tearing through them to find the goodies within. I have always had a strong connection to Christmas because it reminds me of what it was like as a kid. Seeing presents wrapped with my name on it is always nice. I don't even care so much about the presents as much as what they symbolize in my family, and that is that somebody was thinking of you and wants you to be happy.

My mom has never been big on gifts, both in asking for them and giving them. I never minded because as a result she would get me things I needed and it was all the more thoughtful. I spend every Christmas with my mom and we have a small little Christmas with a couple of presents (Never more than 10 between the two of us, and always small gifts). This year was no different and we took it easy. The main thing this year was that my mom cooked a great Christmas Eve dinner and we were together.

Since my parents are divorced I have two Christmas'. People think I'm lucky but it doesn't really matter because they are still the same presents, just spread out. I went to my dad's house in the afternoon and we celebrated and had a nice present opening session that everybody enjoyed, especially my 14 month old sister who got her first Lego-esque set. We too had a loving dinner, but I felt like the one I had with my mom was more loving..

The three Christmas' are the corporate (Hallmark) Christmas, the family-centered Christmas, and the religious Christmas. This is the first time that I didn't have a religious Christmas. This year has been tough on my mom and she doesn't feel like she can turn to anybody and doesn't feel as religious as she used to. I feel like I missed out on one of the better aspects of Christmas because it helps to show me that people can still come together and be happy together. This year also had me seeing the least of my family, because as a result of my mom's year she isn't talking to our family. Prior to this we would go to my Aunt's on Christmas Eve and have a small family gathering. We didn't go this year and I missed it. Normally my Grandma (Dad's mom) comes to visit, but she didn't come this year because of equal parts her boyfriend (Who doesn't care much for my dad) and the economy. She is instead visiting in a few weeks. I feel like missing out on the family and the religious Christmas' was alright, but I miss them. I felt fine on Christmas doing things the Hallmark way but at the same time I will always like the Christmas' of my youth, with family and religion abound, the best.