About Me

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Franklin Park, New Jersey, United States

Friday, October 28, 2005

I've got alot on my mind but I can't seem to calm down long enough to sort it all out. The holidays will be upon me in no time. I hope I'm ready. I'm starting to prepare myself now because I don't want a repeat of last year. Of course, the separation is a year old this month so everyone should be a little more settled in the situation. We as a family have dealt with a complete year of birthdays, anniversaries and even one round of holidays. This year we should really be able to learn from our mistakes and make this transition to the whole "separate but equal" holiday system much easier.
We are scheduled to have a Thanksgiving dinner with my second youngest sister, brother-in-law and kids as usual. This dinner takes place because they go upstate to visit his family for the actual day. In times past, the whole family would gather at the house and the living room would be transformed into a cafeteria to accommodate my family of eleven (plus boyfriends, friends and extended family). It's always an entertaining time. This year my mom and brother Matt won't be there. They moved to Virginia this summer. It will be weird not having them there this year. This holiday season, traveling to see family will involve more than an LIRR ticket. This time I will need a plane ticket to get to them. It is hard getting used to have my core family spread out so far. Before they were all just exits away on the LIE. Holiday travel planning is much more intensive this year.
For Christmas Mom and Matt will come up to see all of us. Everyone will have to grin and bear it as we ALL spend Christmas Eve together with my three nieces Noelle, Hannah and Naliyah (Leah). I can't wait to see Noelle and Hannah this Christmas, they are at the age where they finally "get it". Leah is still much too young to understand, she'll only be eight months old by Christmas.
As far as gift giving goes, we all buy gifts for the kids. Then for all of my immediate family we have a grab bag with a price minimum that is usually decided randomly around Halloween. "The List" as we refer to it, was posted on our family website this week. Once "The List" is posted we all post our wish list, this way the person who has us for the grab bag has some general idea of what we want. In addition, everyone usually gets a few stocking stuffers for everyone else. It's a tradition that just sort of happened over the years. We always open all presents on Christmas Eve while we eat and karaoke and try not to fight to much.
Christmas Day has never been a really big day in my family. This year it's Sunday so I think the plan is for everyone to go to church together. That should be nice.
Some people find it bizarre when they hear that I'm from a family of six children. I can't imagine my life another way. It's a nice feeling to be surrounded by all of these people who share your blood. Now I have nieces and I love seeing them grow up and be apart of this crazy family of mine. They have all this love surrounding them. Three little girls with six aunts and two uncles (if I include aunts and uncles by marriage) in their immediate family. That is amazing.
I didn't have a perfect childhood but it's over and most days when I think back I have a lot of fond memories. I know you can only shelter children from so much in this world but I wish I could let my nieces have only happy days. When my they think back on their lives, I want the only memories that they feel or remember is to be how much that they are loved.