The Boxing Day Blues.

I know, I know. It must seem like I’m having an endless case of the blues – November Blues, Baby Blues, Boxing Day Blues. Fear not because these blues only last a day or so.

I had a really nice week off from everything, a week I didn’t even know I needed off! It all started last week with holiday parties. Each night we either hosted a holiday party or went to a holiday party. Then after our last Hanukkah party (or is it Chanukah? I haven’t the foggiest), we got home fairly late and had to wake up the next morning and scramble to pack bags for all three of us, finish wrapping presents and get on the road to Jersey. When we got there, we then happily celebrated more Hanukkah and, of course, Christmas.

Oh, the food. And the movies I watched from the comfort of my childhood couch against a gigantic TV. And the family. It was much quieter than Thanksgiving but I think it had to be. We didn’t even have enough guest rooms for Thanksgiving. It was definitely the first year that Scarlet understood the holidays, at least to the degree that we can talk about them. She’s both Jewish and Christian and although people may argue that she’s one or the other, or that she can’t be both, well, she is both. By blood and by the family she’s being raised in. Since I’m a bit religion and holiday confused myself, what I realized this year was that it is just important to me to have traditions in our family. Traditions that work well for us and have meaning. And even though she’s still a bit young, I want her to know what these holidays mean to this family. So far, so good.

This is really just a quick pop-in to say hi and to tell you I haven’t forgotten about this blog for even an instant, and have just been enjoying an extended holiday vacation. I’ll be back soon with photos (yes, really, finally) and more to talk about!

14 weeks pregnant now. Some symptoms have faded but I still feel pretty knackered, more than I’m comfortable with. And I still hate the smell of fire. Looking very forward to the new year and all that will come with it.

When I was a kid, I hated the end of the holidays so, so much. Sometimes I still feel that to this day – that end of holiday vacation from school stings so much, you can feel its echoes in adulthood. Although in truth, as a somewhat mall-grinchy adult, I welcome the new year and the way the world around me goes back to normal. So the end of the holiday season brings as much happiness and relief as it does sadness. What is hard for me is the separation from family after being so tightly knit and cozy for a few blissful days. It’s never been easy. It’s not easy. It will probably never been easy.

Sometimes I like the way it hurts a bit. It means I have so, so much love in my life that I can feel the pain of not having it always in proximity. Bittersweet.