On being an "extra"

Having lived most of my adult life geographically close to my family, going elsewhere for the holidays was not an option (unless I wanted to be excommunicated from the family, which doesn't always seem like such a bad idea...I kid, I kid! I joke with you!).

But sometimes life happens and you just need a change of pace. Like last Christmas, which I spent with my friend Lauren, her parents and her brother. It was so nice to be able to just sit and be an "extra" person in someone else's family's festivities. La's parents even made me a little stocking, which was so sweet of them. I napped, I read a book, I helped with dinner. It was lovely. And though not the sort of holiday that brings back memories of my childhood, it was just what I needed at the time.

This year's Thanksgiving holiday will be a similar experience, minus the nap & book reading. Again, due to life, I'll be celebrating with my good friends Dave, Rama & Raja, along with Dave's siblings and parents. I'm looking forward to, once again, being an "extra" without great obligation or need to play my part in a family. As a perpetual student of humanity, it's also so interesting to observe the different dynamics between family members, and I'm sure Thursday will be no different. And as an added bonus, I get to stare at Raja all afternoon.

Thank you to Lauren & her family for providing me a place to rest my weary head last Christmas, and to Dave & Rama, for allowing me to crash their Thanksgiving dinner this year. It's so nice to have friends that I consider like family.