I am
officially on vacation until…tomorrow. The office is operating on a “skeleton crew”
until January 2nd which means I don’t have to come in every day but
I do have to come in and man the phones/get some work done. No one uses our
business over the holidays; it’s all factory owners and mid-tier rich businessmen.
Everyone is on vacation! Unfortunately, I refuse to get paid to kill so if I
want money, I have to go in to work on some of the coldest days of the year.
Actually, I
Just looked it up and this is nowhere near the coldest recorded days for my
area. It’s still fucking cold.
I don’t
know why I’m complaining. This happens every year, and every year I’m thankful
to sneak back to work. I think it’s because I genuinely had an enjoyable Christmas
dinner with my family. While my father was a bit grouchy about “this generation”
- to which Jason wisely kept his mouth shut – my mother was the one to change
the subject and keep everyone level-headed. I was surprised to say the least.
Not that my mother talked over my father, or tried to be happy even when
tensions were high, but that she was calm and kind. She helped make and clean
up dinner; she reminded my father not to inspect the house before we ate. She
was uncharacteristically matriarchal.
At the time, I was just grateful for a reprieve from her relentless badgering but now that I write this out, I wonder if something is wrong with her.
I’m sure it’s fine.
So, I called my sister last week. My intention
was actually to invite her to Christmas dinner but she declined. Apparently,
she’s settled into a job and found an apartment with two other girls she met through
her parole officer; she’s even met a boy. I say boy because he’s 15 years
younger than her. I have nothing against two consenting adults doing their
thing but I sincerely doubt this boy is mature enough to understand the complex
nature of my sister. Maybe they’ll be really good for each other and end up in
a loving relationship. Maybe they’ll just have good sex and zero meaningful
conversation until it fizzles out. Both are possible. Both are fine. The point
is, my sister didn’t come over for Christmas and I was fine with it.
It was a nice day.
And at the end of the day, isn’t that what
Christmas is all about. Just having a good time?
As always, dear readers,
Stay Safe