Waiting For You

Chapter 29: Happy New Year

Chapter 29: Happy New Year

Amelia

You know that teacher at your school that always has their classroom decorated throughout December? I'm talking wreaths, garlands—maybe even a little tree in the corner with white fairy lights and silver ornaments from the dollar store. Maybe they even bring gifts for all of their students on the last day before winter break, and spend all of class watching Christmas movies instead of doing proper lessons.

Yeah, that's what the last day of school looked like in my class. I'm 100% that teacher, and I have zero shame.

I'm sure a lot of my students think I'm corny, or that they're far too old to receive silly gift bags filled with goodies, but you know what? I don't really care! I find it so fun, and if a couple students remember me ten years from now for being that wacko that loved the holidays a little too much, then so be it.

They wouldn't be the first ones to laugh at me, anyway. Sam has been doing it for years. He thinks I'm crazy for wanting to decorate the entire apartment the moment we finish eating our Thanksgiving turkey—not that we've done much of that this year. Most of our Christmas-y things have remained in boxes while we've been focused on moving out of our apartment, and I've been a little moody about it.

I do get it from somewhere though. My mom loves the holidays as much as I do—maybe even a little more.

My family usually goes all out for Christmas, but the last two years have been a little quieter. As far back as I can remember we've done something special with everyone, extended family included. When I was young we had a big meal with the aunts, uncles and cousins at my grandparents'. Grandpa would play Santa while we opened presents around the tree, and uncle Jim would get louder and louder the more he drank. Gosh, one year he brought along some awful homemade wine. I must've been seven or eight, too young to partake, but I still remember how all of my relatives got absolutely trashed, even the ones that don't usually drink much.

In hindsight, that was probably a bad batch, and it's a wonder no one ended up in the hospital.

My poor grandma though! She was the only one sober enough to take care of all the kids, and ultimately the adults too.

Eventually when my grandpa passed away and my grandma moved into a smaller apartment, my parents started to host. We've been doing that for a solid decade now. It's a lot of work to get everything done—and a lot of stress—but my mom lives for entertaining guests, and bossing her daughters around.

It's been getting harder and harder to keep traditions going now that everyone's been growing up, going off to school, and getting married. Last year my youngest sister Nat couldn't afford to come home, so she took more shifts at work instead and just called us on FaceTime after we got home from Church to wish us a Merry Christmas.

This year too, Christmas Eve at my parents' house was pretty quiet compared to other years. There was definitely way too much food for the amount of people that showed up to dinner, that's for darn sure—and I was even eating for three!

Abby and Ty decided to spend their first holidays as a married couple on a beach in Jamaica with some of their friends, and my mother was not happy about it. All day she made remarks under her breath, expressing her disappointment to anybody that would listen—namely me, since I was over early to help her with all of the cooking.

Of course I didn't like that my sister and her husband bailed on what was almost thirty years' worth of family traditions, but it's not like I'm holding it against them or anything. They're grown-ups that can make their own choices, and deal with my mother's cold shoulder when they get home on January 3rd.