Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Merry Christmas?

Since I was unemployed for most of 2009, I couldn't really afford to leave for the holidays. Which, all in all, isn't a bad thing. My folks came to visit for Thanksgiving and they have sent my presents to me. They've been neatly stacked at my front door because, well, I was lazy this year and decided not to put up a tree.

This isn't my first Christmas away from my family. I did it in 2007 when I didn't have the time off to travel because of Kenya. But the biggest difference is that I spent that Christmas with my friends at my house, lounging in pj's opening presents and laughing. We also went to see Juno that night. Overall, it was a great Christmas.

This Christmas is, well, something I'm not looking forward to. In all honesty, I almost wish I was traveling to a different city instead of staying in Denver. I'm not going to be completely alone. My friends Maria and Leah are beyond gracious and have both opened their festivities up to me. And my friend Nic and I are going to dinner on Christmas Eve and then I'm heading to a new friend Nicole's house.

It should be a good time...it should be nice. But it's not ideal. I'm extremely grateful that my friends have included me, and yet, there is a huge part of me that is struggling with the alone-ness of this Christmas. I think the thought of not having anyone around on Christmas Day is really starting to freak me out and this isn't how I want to spend Christmas. The independent part of me wants to be okay with spending Christmas away from my close friends and family...the reality is I'm having really big anxiety about this Christmas, which is making me not all that excited for it. I just hope I can get into the spirit by Friday.

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