Spending the holidays “alone”
When I first moved to Mexico I was really scared of spending the holidays alone. That first year, in 2018 two of my aunts from the US came to spend Christmas with my grandma, so naturally we made the 8-hour drive down to spend the holidays with them. I was super excited to have a “piece from home” but it didn’t feel the way I thought it would. I ended up staying at one of my aunt's house for a few days because my grandma was making mean remarks about my body.
It was the first time I questioned if family really was everything.
The following year I had reconnected with one of my half sisters and we agreed to spend the holidays with her and her family.
We made the 6-hour drive and had so much fun. That year we decided we’d come down for the holidays every year.
But then the pandemic hit.
We didn’t want to risk visiting them since my sister's mom lives with them and we didn’t want to get her kids sick. So we traveled five hours to spend the holidays with some of our ODA friends in Mexico City.
We had a blast. We cooked together, played lots of board games, and walked around the semi-empty city. For a moment we thought we had a new tradition, but in 2021 my niblings asked if we were going down for the holidays, and so we did.
We couldn’t say no to them. So we made that six-hour drive once again in 2021. We bought them presents, we ate so much yummy food, and we explored their town. It was one of the best Christmas we had had since we moved. Surely this was our tradition. This was what we were going to do for every holiday season.
But then in 2022, I got Covid for the 3rd time and dislocated my wrist. We couldn't make the trip, so we were forced to spend the holidays “alone”. At first, we were really sad. How could we possibly spend the holidays alone? There was no point in cooking a meal or listening to Christmas music.
We made the 6-hour drive and had so much fun. That year we decided we’d come down for the holidays every year.
But then the pandemic hit.
We didn’t want to risk visiting them since my sister's mom lives with them and we didn’t want to get her kids sick. So we traveled five hours to spend the holidays with some of our ODA friends in Mexico City.
We had a blast. We cooked together, played lots of board games, and walked around the semi-empty city. For a moment we thought we had a new tradition, but in 2021 my niblings asked if we were going down for the holidays, and so we did.
We couldn’t say no to them. So we made that six-hour drive once again in 2021. We bought them presents, we ate so much yummy food, and we explored their town. It was one of the best Christmas we had had since we moved. Surely this was our tradition. This was what we were going to do for every holiday season.
But then in 2022, I got Covid for the 3rd time and dislocated my wrist. We couldn't make the trip, so we were forced to spend the holidays “alone”. At first, we were really sad. How could we possibly spend the holidays alone? There was no point in cooking a meal or listening to Christmas music.
But then, we realized we weren’t alone. We had each other.
Quique had me to make jokes and make sure we laughed about our situation, and I had Quique, to make all the yummy food we ate (for like a week straight) and we found new traditions.
This year we were faced with a difficult decision, we could’ve
a) gone to my sisters
b) gone to our friends
c) spend the holidays “alone”
For a good minute, we were going to go down to see my sister and her kids, but then our friend invited us to her place for Christmas and we couldn’t say no to that. So we were planning to make the two-hour drive and do something new for this holiday season, but then, she got sick, and knowing how weak of an immune system I have, we canceled.
Quique had me to make jokes and make sure we laughed about our situation, and I had Quique, to make all the yummy food we ate (for like a week straight) and we found new traditions.
This year we were faced with a difficult decision, we could’ve
a) gone to my sisters
b) gone to our friends
c) spend the holidays “alone”
For a good minute, we were going to go down to see my sister and her kids, but then our friend invited us to her place for Christmas and we couldn’t say no to that. So we were planning to make the two-hour drive and do something new for this holiday season, but then, she got sick, and knowing how weak of an immune system I have, we canceled.
So here we are again, spending the holidays “alone” only we’re not alone.
We’re not alone because we have each other.
We’re not alone because our families are a FaceTime away.
We’re not alone because our friends are a FaceTime away.
Just because we can’t see our loved ones in person doesn’t mean we’re alone.
That took me 6 holiday seasons to fully understand.
For the second year in a row, we get to continue to create our own holiday traditions, and so far here they are.
1) buy Xmas presents for each other with each other present 😂
2) go to the park or downtown to take holiday pictures
3) make pozole
And 4) watch Harry Potter while playing board games.
Here’s to discovering our own traditions, and spending the holidays “alone.” 🥂
We’re not alone because we have each other.
We’re not alone because our families are a FaceTime away.
We’re not alone because our friends are a FaceTime away.
Just because we can’t see our loved ones in person doesn’t mean we’re alone.
That took me 6 holiday seasons to fully understand.
For the second year in a row, we get to continue to create our own holiday traditions, and so far here they are.
1) buy Xmas presents for each other with each other present 😂
2) go to the park or downtown to take holiday pictures
3) make pozole
And 4) watch Harry Potter while playing board games.
Here’s to discovering our own traditions, and spending the holidays “alone.” 🥂
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