How to Survive the Holidays
(Part One)
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Ah, the holidays. That time of year when everyone feels an immense amount of pressure to buy the perfect gift for everyone, look their best for work parties, portray their *magical* holiday times perfectly on social media, blah blah blah…
I heard my first holiday song this year in October, while shopping at Target. It was Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas. I remember thinking: here it comes. Then, amazingly, I felt a real sense of peace. I am not buying anyone gifts this year and both my parents are dead. Whoa, the last part of that sentence came on a little strong, but it’s true, they’re dead. They’ve been dead for a while now— my dad, who I barely knew, died of leukemia two years after my mom died by suicide in May 2010. It’s taken me a long, long time to get to this space of peace with the holidays. I’ll be writi…
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