and then it dawns on me...
…it’s the holiday season. but being a newbie west coaster, i’m confusing the sun and mild days and palm trees with any ol’ other day in early spring. and for the first time since moving, i honestly feel a bit displaced.
this isn’t the first time naz and i won’t be going home for thanksgiving. and it isn’t the first time we haven’t hosted either. but dare i say it, i’m a bit homesick for the old traditions my family started and the new traditions naz and i were beginning.
for two years in chicago, we actually hosted the big day for my immediate family. the first year, my grandma actually came along, and i’m pretty sure she didn’t know what to do with idle hands, so she slept a lot. the second year, it was just my folks and sister, but it wasn’t any less fun. in fact, that was the year of the wii, and we didn’t leave the house for at least 48 hours. and last year we made a sudden change in plans to drive home with shaun the dog™. my dad wasn’t feeling up to snuff thanks to the bitch called cancer, so we swapped holidays; my family came up for a delayed christmas celebration.
i’m no martha stewart or ina garten, but i was getting into the swing of cooking and baking, planning activities to entertain everyone, dragging out blankets and pillows for guests, and just generally opening up our small home to my loved ones. sure, we’ve had a deluge of guests our first six months of living in SF, and i mean no disrespect, but i want my mom and dad and sister.
to assuage the anguish, we will be going home for an early christmas for a massive gathering of my mom’s extended family. originally we weren’t going to fly home so soon after moving. one of the deals we made with my family after we announced our cross-country move was that we would fly them out for this year’s holiday. but once again, cancer reared its ugly mug, and my dad wouldn’t be able to make a plane ride in comfort. so, we snatched up some cheap plane tickets, arranged for a dog sitter, and a busy itinerary has been planned for our four-day midwestern extravaganza.
admittedly, i’m probably more excited than i should be. i’m a big proponent of change and trying new things, but i need one thing to stay the same: family during the holidays.