smallbrook christmas

sitting here in my mom's living room, getting my fill of mtv. nice! i love cable at my mom's. feels like a real vacation.

arrived in LA xmas eve. mom, aunt barb and uncle bob picked me up and we drove down to fallbrook. had my first xmas ever with the two separated families together (that hadn't happened since i was about 4 years old). i had a bad feeling about it...thought it might be really weird. my family has definitely gone through ups and downs, getting along sometimes and not at all other times. apparently my grandmother (dad's mom) was thrilled that my mother suggested the two families getting together for the holiday. that was a good sign. sometimes, she's just the worst to my mom's family.

my mom was stressed out, trying to make sure everyone was getting along. the crowd consisted of me, mom's side: mom, aunt, uncle and dad's side: dad, grandma and dad's ex-wife/sort of partner (don't ask). surprisingly, everyone was in very good spirits. the dinner was great. got some good prezzies. even got a little tipsy. being the only child of the entire family is always joyous (i'm talking sarcasm here). and now that i'm not around as much, they had to make it an especially big deal that i was home and the light in all of their lives. it's nice, don't get me wrong...but can be a little tiresome.

my grandmother even brought every postcard i've ever written her over the years and made me recite them to everyone. so embarrassing. a sweet gesture, but come on now.

all in all, it was a nice day. i was happy to be with and see everyone and it was especially nice not to have to break up the day...going from one families' house to the other. very thankful for that!

LA tomorrow. YAY!