Is there anything more loathsome than Christmas dinner?
This isn’t meant as a slight to my parents -- quite the opposite. My Mom and Dad are wonderful. It’s the rest of my family I’m not so keen on. Aunts and Uncles and cousins that are eager to ask questions about what I’m doing and where I’m going, totally ignorant about what my life is really like.
I hate the invasiveness. I hate the fact that I have to keep my guard up and create lies on the spot instead of enjoying myself like a regular person.
Christmas Eve is a fairly large event at my childhood home. To this day, my mother still prepares a feast for anywhere between fifteen to twenty people. The party lasts from about 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. or so, although last year things didn’t wrap up until midnight. Christmas Day, however, is much more relaxed. Usually my parents and I go into Chinatown so my mother can relax and have someone wait on her for a change.
Of course skipping my annual trip home was out of the question. My father would probably understand (and to be honest, he prefers visiting me in Miami), but my mother would have a right fit. There’s also someone else that would miss me greatly. He and I only see each other about once a year.
This cousin of mine, he’s in his senior year of high school, and likes to think of me as something as a mentor. Well, perhaps mentor is too strong a word, but he recognizes the fact that he can call, text, or email me anytime, and that I’ll answer his questions with complete honesty.
No topic is off-limits, whether it’s sex, drugs, academics or just life. I tell him what I can. “Always wear a condom,” is a popular one, as is “Recreational drugs are for losers,” and “Yes, girls your age are stupid, so dating older is a great idea.”
Obviously he doesn’t know what I do for a living. Introducing an adolescent to the idea of selling one’s body for money isn’t a good idea. Still, I enjoy his company and would gladly let him visit me here in Miami if time permitted. He’s even gone so far to say that when I finally get around to visiting Montréal or London, he wants in
Funny thing is, if this blog ever did produce a book deal, I’d probably oblige his request. My salary at the moment can’t accommodate two people for a vacation, but if I were ever in the position to do so, I probably would.
Until then, I’ll have to keep working. I promise that this is the last of the Christmas-themed posts, and I’d like to wish any Jewish readers a very happy Hanukkah. So, barring any drunken antics at my parents’ holiday party, consider me a regular scrooge in terms of holiday-themed blogging.
I’m going to take a wild guess and say that readers are just as interested in Simone as I am. As our relationship continues to develop, I’ll be sure to write about it as best I can. Oh, and did I mention I have another job interview coming up…?
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