| | With the notable exception of being molested by a child yesterday (details follow), I have to say that yesterday was probably one of the best Christmases I've ever had. My co-worker and friend extraordinaire was kind and generous enough to host a Christmas dinner for all of her friends without family this year. It was the most laid-back and relaxing party. We had a great buffet spread, people came and went all day, the drinks were aflowin', and nobody got into a fight. While I believe that immediate families should spend time together, there is such a thing as too much time together, which leads to cabin fever and general ill will. There was none of that nonsense at this party, and it was such a fun time, that I (sadly? regretably?) didn't even consider that I should be missing my family. Today, when I got to work, I feel like my lack of family spirit was validated when I saw pictures from the traditional Christmas Eve gathering that all my cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents have. It's the same people, just a year older, eating the same food (a Thanksgiving dinner repeat), wearing new versions of the same boring sweater vests, and having the same stupid small talk that nobody really cares about: How are ya? What are you doing now? Why aren't you doing this job, instead? Are you dating anyone? And the list goes on. Outside of holidays, and my extended family gets together for most of them, we don't really talk to each other that much, with the exception of our parents' generation. They're siblings, after all. But I don't talk to my aunts, uncles, and cousins, and it's only when nagged to death that I call my grandparents. Why would I choose to spend hours in their tedious company (tedious, perhaps, because when it boils down to it, do we really care about the small talk questions we ask?) when I can join my friends, who actually know me? My friends are much more schooled in my interests, values, day-to-day work, relationships, etc. Perhaps my family would also be schooled in these matters if I spent more time with them, but in my experience, family tends to feel that they can offer commentary on those matters when it's really not wanted. Wow, I guess I'm really sounding cynical. On a lighter note, let me tell you about how I was violated by a 7 year old girl. When I was at the Christmas party yesterday, a single dad brought his little girl with him. She's a rambunctious sort and just generally strange. At one point, I was sitting quietly in my little corner of the floor by the Christmas tree, when said child leaped onto me and hugged me. Keep in mind that I've never laid eyes on her before. While she was sprawled on me, I kind of did a nervous *pat pat, shove shove, nice to meet you, get the fuck off me* maneuver. She didn't take the hint, but, instead, reached behind me to grab some presents. In the mean time, she used my left breast for leverage, copping an extremely generous squeeze for way too long. The dad saw the whole event and didn't say anything. I managed to get her off me, then tried to make a quick exit across the room to safety. When I stood up, the demon child grabbed onto my ankle. When I wrested it free and took a step, she grabbed the other one. This kept on for a few minutes until the dad finally suggested to his girl that she was beginning to be a little obnoxious. Needless to say, I paid particular attention to avoiding her until she and her dad left, meanwhile imbibing much alcohol. |
