nixtress's Diaryland Diary

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Gifts in all shapes and sizes

It's Friday! Now, that really doesn't mean a whole lot when you've shoved your weekend just as full as your week but! There's a tiny little thing I've set up that I'm looking forward to.
It's no secret that my family wasn't your run o'the mill type or that we moved ALOT before my 6th grade year. Miracle of miracles, they managed to stay put from 6th until I graduated.
And so I actually made some friends in that itty bitty little town but haven't managed to stay in contact with but maybe one.
Quite awhile ago, I received an email from a gal I'd known casually through school but hadn't been overly close with, through one of those reunion.com things or whatever. We've spent some time, sending a bazillion messages back and forth, catchin' up and all that and this weekend, this Saturday, we're going to get together again and do some Christmas shopping.
She settled into a town about an hour away from me, has boys like I do that are about the same age. I'm looking forward to it.
I envy people who have friends they've shared their lives with, who've been involved in each other's lives so long they've forgotten when they haven't. Heck, even my mother has a pal she's been close to for going on 35 years. There isn't anything they don't know about each other.
I don't have that. To a degree it's because I've naturally kept people at arm's length alot of my life. And some of it's the result of moving as much as I have---even as an adult! Part of it, too, is that after high school, I just wanted to run away from everything that had happened to that point and didn't maintain contact with anyone.
SO. I have a reunion of sorts planned with an old friend. And I'm looking forward to it!
***
We put our Christmas tree up last night. It took some doing. I fought with those damned lights forever and a month, I think. Put them on, took them off. Put them back on, took them back off. Finally managed to get three strands wrapped perfectly (in my estimation).
I think I've kept every goofy little ornament the boys have ever made and they had a good time hanging those on the tree. I've added my own in bits and pieces so our tree is a hodge podge of our life here.
It's lovely. I dug out the rest of the holiday decorations and now, even the bathroom is sporting a tiny Christmas tree and jingle bells on the door handle.
I forget, each year, how much I actually enjoy the season until I get all the goodies out and wallow in the ambiance a bit.
So. We're Chrismas-ized. And Sam-the-big-white-cat provided a cute photo op last night. He was snuggled under the tree on the skirt, peering out from under the branches like some fluffy gift. Just cute.
***
It's funny, the gifts we receive without realizing what they are. My family's history, for example. As screwed up as it's been, it was a gift to me. It taught me, firsthand, how NOT to live my life.
The absence of close friends has gifted me with the knowledge that I miss those sorts of relationships and as hard as they can be to maintain, I need to try.
My boys are a gift every day. They make me laugh, keep me on my toes, make me realize how full my life is.
Just have to keep my eyes (and mind) open.
Happy Friday!! Keep warm.
N.

6:12 a.m. - 2006-12-08

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