Post-Holiday Breather
I have a love/hate relationship with my hometown. A great deal of nostalgia is built up in twenty-three years, and - from a safe distance - I think of St. Mary's County with warm-and-fuzzies, especially when it comes to the small town quirks that my current environment lacks. (For example, the annual post-Thanksgiving tree lighting in the town square. Because it just wouldn't be post-Thanksgiving without watching Santa elevated to tree-level in the bucket of a Bay District firetruck, or watching the "Gracie's Guys and Gals" dance school Nutcracker Suite their asses off in 20-degree weather.) However, while I damn present suburbia for it's absence of soul, I'm quick to damn said hometown for an overdose of the wrong type. More than 48-hours of exposure and I tend to get a bit twitchy; it's always a relief to find myself back in Columbia...sweet, soulless Columbia...Thanksgiving was fantastic. My family (folks and sibling) were joined by Jon (in a tie, no less) and William (Kat's beau, second time around), which went better than anticipated, given the newness of Jon and Mom's firm dislike of William (second time around). We ate, we digested, we Nintendo'd our asses off (reaffirming my status as bad-ass supreme when it comes to Goldeneye; I am unbeatable!) and played board games. Because that's how the Dean clan rolls. Jon had a good time, and the general consensus was that he was "nice" and "funny" and "more lively than the guys you usually date" (per Mom), the latter of which is - upon consideration - quite true. My preferences in men tend to be sharply divided between "assholes" and "old souls"; I haven't ever dated anyone as...well, happy, as Jon. He genuinely loves his life, and this simple fact brings out really good things in me. The remainder of my weekend involved family tree decorating, the aforementioned rendezvous in the square, and ill-fated gingerbread house construction, capped off by an old-school argument with Mom. It's so irritating to be pulled into such senseless, ridiculous drama, especially when my life - away from the homestead, at least - has been so carefully maintained at Zen level. I used to be a very, very angry girl, and have put tremendous effort towards moving past that; I hate it when folk try to provoke and bring me down. Sigh.Returned home on Saturday and decorated my own humble little abode with X-mas goodness. This is my first holiday with the feline and - after waking up with several tree ornaments relocated to the foot of my bed - I anticipate that it will be an interesting one. Kept myself occupied with domestic nonsense today, and polished off my first ever not-a-hat-or-scarf knitting project (more specifically: poncho for Mom). Jon's schedule - coupled with an exploded hot water heater and, subsequently, one sodden basement - killed off tentative plans, so the evening was a solitary one. (Y'know, spare Nathan Scott Phillips and his tree-climbing endeavors.)Hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday. Will catch up on your journals at some point tomorrow, but - in the meantime - sleep!