Sunday, December 28, 2008

Tha ish: presence, not presents


I wasn’t particularly looking forward to Christmas this year. I’m not really into the holiday season anymore (I am fully aware of scrooge-ish that sounds, but hey..), but my mood was exceptionally crappy this year. I was worrying about the recession, worrying about my job; basically I really wasn’t in the mood to be joyous. I even let my friends and family know that we should forgo giving gifts this year and just celebrate the holidays in a low-key kinda way.

Without getting caught up in selecting the “perfect” gift for everyone, I was able to really enjoy Christmas. Instead of exchanging gifts with my friends, I met up with one of my best friends and I had an amazing night. We indulged in a little girl talk, and indulged in a lot of wine. I completely enjoyed every minute of it.

One of the reasons I’m not a big fan of the holidays is that most of my family lives away (Trinidad, California, Georgia) and it’s usually very quiet in our home. It’s just me, my mom, my sister and brother. So it’s not too different from any other day. However, this year I was able to see family that I haven’t seen in years. I saw my aunts, uncles and cousins that I rarely get to see. It was sooo nice to have the house filled with my family. As the sound of laughter rocked our house, I was slowly but surely getting into the Christmas spirit.

Having the opportunity to see family may not sound like a big deal for some. But it’s not everyday that I get to see them, so spending the few hours with them made me happy. Honestly, I rather spend quality time with loved ones instead of spending hours and hours unwrapping a mountain of gifts.

No comments: