i spent christmas day in my apartment accompanied only by facebook, my cell phone, and pizza rolls. sounds sad, but i was technically at work. so as i tried (unsuccessfully) to connect to our server i edited various power points and watched the grayness of 7:45 am mellow into a rather beautiful afternoon.
it might have been easy to feel sorry for myself. although it wasn’t my first christmas away from my family it is never an easy time. it is less the holiday and more the reality that everyone else has gathered together and i am not a part of that togetherness.
only this year i had an abundance of invitations extended to me from family and friends. one of the unforseen advantages of moving to the bay has been family i didn’t know much about but who make sure i feel welcome. today it was all about my cousin jamila and her family.
i find it interesting – seeing howother people celabrate. how they interact with each other.
jamila and her family started off quiet. i wasn’t sure what kind of interaction it would be…how much of an intrustion i might pose. i needen’t have worried. after a big bowl of gumbo and a couple of cupcakes conversation jumped over all politically correct boundaries and we launched into an animated discussion about religion and relationships.
almost seven hours later i found myself trying to pry myself away in order to prepare for work tomorrow. it was an unexpected pleasure. a time where i felt like family and not intruder as they folded me into their holiday experience. and i am so thankful for it.