The one holiday that brings back a lot of memory is Christmas 2003. This was one of the hardest holidays, except of course for the first holiday we celebrated after my mom passed away. This was the first holiday celebrated after my divorce and therefore the first holiday where I was separated from the kids for part of the time. I am a BIG—no HUGE holiday person…. I love to decorate everything in the house for every single holiday…. I love to host and attend holiday parties, go to church, spend time with family, shop (yes—I’m one of those 4am, day after Thanksgiving shoppers…call me crazy, that’s ok), watch the parades etc... But this Christmas I just could not get that into it. Me and the boys had just moved out of our home that we lived in while I was married to the EX, and moved into a home closer to my family.
And while it was hard to get into the holiday spirit, I did try to carry on some of our old family traditions. We got a small tree, to put in our small house, Santa brought gifts for the boys (I remember CJ was so worried that Santa wouldn’t know where our new house was and that he wouldn’t get any gifts) and we went to my mom’s for Christmas breakfast/brunch and to exchange gifts with all of my family…… THEN, the boys were picked up by their dad (the EX). And even though I was able to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with them, and even though I knew they would be coming back to me the next day, I still cried….and cried and cried!! I cried as soon as I saw him pull up in the driveway and then as the boys gave me their sweet little hugs and then as I watched them drive away. I sat there with my mom for a bit….she always had a way to cheer me up and make me feel better; always had the right words to say (oh, how I miss those words). After that, Joe picked me up (at this point in our relationship we were still “just friends”, yet at the same time “more than friends”) and we went to an NBA basketball game where we watched the game, ate a bunch of crap food and drank way too much. I remember going into the club bar, where we knew the bartender, and drinking Heineken beer, which i HATE; but at that point, I had enough other drinks in me that it didn't matter. Then went home and ate leftover cuban pork (joe’s tradition—he makes a Cuban pork every Christmas Eve….yummy). I remember eating very sloppy; you know how you do when you've had too much to drink and any manners go right out the door....(remember the whole david hasselhoff, hamburger incident...?) Then we went to bed, I think...because at some point during our "christmas dinner" I can't remember anything else!!
AND so ended my Christmas Day. I did feel pretty bad the next day, but was able to sleep in, sleep the “drinks” away and then my boys came home to mama!!
Some pictures from that day...before the tears, before the drinks!!!
Joseph & Ethan opening gifts
Joseph was throwing a fit about his stocking at this moment
My dad and step dad swinging Cj and Joseph
PS- I just added a "Follow this Blog" to my site and I'd love for you to follow me on my crazy adventures!! But, really, I would feel better if at least one person would stalk me...so then I won't feel like a loser. Come on, you know you want to.... I promise to have lots of fun stories to tell (no, I'm not begging...........yet!!) :)
17 comments:
Awww, your dad AND stepdad. That is how it is in my family. It's great when divorced families can get along that well. Good post.
But, you've come a long way since then, right? Sometimes, it's good to look back and see how far you've come.
That must have been tough, but I'm glad you still got to have some fun!
Awww! Despite it being hard it sounded like it ended up okay. YAY for Joe taking you to a game. That must have been really hard but you've come a long way! :)
That must have been so hard for you! It sounds (and looks) like you have a great support system to get you through those times. Sometimes all you need is someone who cares and a few drinks!!
Sounds like a crazy rough Christmas. Hopefully this years celebration will be amazing!
Death is never an easy thing..you never "get over it" you just learn to deal with it. I am sorry for the loss of your mother, but am thankful she was there for you during that Christmas.
aw - that sounds sad - but still fun?!!
Wow, that was a really tough Christmas for you. Thanks for sharing such a personal and hard story.
Hugs!
drThanks Melissa!
Yours was really good too ..... I love christmas and it's also my fav holiday but .... I just couldn't think of any really good xmas stories.
Have a great day ...
Wow, what a tough Christmas you must of had. Thanks for sharing. A lot of the time we tend to paint ourselves in a different light when we blog because we want to present only are happy selves..and times..
Sometimes drinking and eating does fix everything. Thank goodness for good friends and family!
I know the feeling of watching your kids go with your ex the first time my oldest son went to his fathers for Christmas was a horribly sad day for me. I didnt think to call up a friend and go out.
That must have been really hard. Divorce and the death of a parent are both really tough! Hopefully you have a great x-mas this year!
I can only imagine what it would be like to split up as a family on Christmas. Boo. But it sounds like you had a not so bad ending. It's nice to have people in our lives who know how to brings up out of our funk.
This is a great story. I don't know if I could contain my sadness if I had to let my children go elsewhere for the holidays.
I haven't lost a parent, but I can't imagine the grief that comes with it. You do seem to have come a long way! Thanks for sharing this memory.
What a tough time it was for you.
Just to let you know, I'm one of those 4am after Thanksgiving shoppers too. I have all my advertisements and coupons in hand!
Good story. Holiday's without your kids can be awful!
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