I'll be home for Christmas

Christmas, this year, will prove somewhat different from past Christmases. For the first time in my life, my family has nowhere to go for Christmas. When I was very young, the Christmas routine included opening gifts at home in the morning, going around the bend to my Grandma Phillips's house to visit with that side of the family, and then heading to my Grandma Lott's house in the afternoon to exchange gifts with the other side of the family. Ever since my Grandma Phillips died, we have had the morning to ourselves, but the afternoon and evening of Christmas day has consisted of uncomfortable reunions with family we typically see only on Christmas and do not necessarily ... umm ... well, like. This year, however, my grandmother decided to go out of town to visit a sister up North for an unspecified period of time. This means that we will postpone the discomfort until some later date. And this means that our Christmas celebration can be much more relaxed, and, consequently, much more pleasurable. Yay for unexpected vacations! And merry Christmas, all.