The Holiday Spirit

I have had a hard time getting in the holiday spirit this year. You'll have to take that with a grain of salt since mine is not exactly the most Christmas-y family you've ever seen. My mom is a Jehovah's Witness and they don't do the whole holiday thing and my dad was raised Catholic but hasn't been near a church of his own volition since he moved out of his parents' place. On top of the whole religion thing, the holiday season always seems to be fraught with tragedy for us. Death, divorce, disease and other disasters seem to wait until Christmas to show up as if to keep everyone's holiday cheer in check. "Don't be too happy, folks. We must not forget that life is hard and unfair!" But, as we do every year, we laugh to keep from crying, and somehow muddle through one more holiday season. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation certainly helps. So does booze.

This year, I will be spending the entirety of Christmas Eve in transit. I leave my place at 5:00 tomorrow morning to get on the tram to the train station. Then it's a three and a half hour train ride to Paris, an hour long bus ride from the train station to the airport, about eight hours to Chicago, a six hour layover, and finally an hour and a half flight to Rochester. Barring any delays, I am supposed to get into Rochester at 12:15am, technically Christmas Day. It's a full 24 hours of traveling. And it's more traveling after that: four days at home, the weekend in Waynesboro to see Jason's family and then five days in Baltimore before I fly back out again on Saturday. Not a lot of "break" to this winter break...

And yet, with all of these obstacles, knowing the insanity that lies before me these next 13 days, excited doesn't even begin to explain how I'm feeling this evening. Yes, I'm going to be jet lagged and exhausted and overbooked and stressed out. Someone will get into a fight over something trivial, someone will do something completely inappropriate, someone will end up in the hospital (wouldn't be the first time) but none of that matters because I'll be home. And I'll get to spend some time in all of my homes with all of my families: my extended family, family in-law and friends because once you're in my heart, you're in forever and you're family, too.

My family, my families, as crazy and imperfect as they are, are all mine and I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. I know everyone says that, but I honestly believe that some people would trade theirs in if they'd been through half the stuff we've been through together, especially at Christmas, but here we are. Somehow stronger every year, somehow still moving forward. And I am so thankful that I get to spend another Christmas with them.

Can't wait to see you all.