3 Days Until Christmas

Christmas is really such a lovely time. When I'm not stressing about buying presents or making the arrangements to balance three different families in a period of two days. But then I remember that some people do not even have one family to plan the holiday with and I am then overwhelmed with appreciation. 

My own home is not very festive. One of the things I look forward to when moving out is being able to decorate, have both friends and family over for drinks and food, and the all-round happy and positive vibes this occasion produces will make it less likely for arguments to break out. 
My nanna and pop are not big on the occasion though they celebrate it with family. There are no decorations. No Christmas related movies each night we reach one day closer to the 25th of December.

Unlike my boyfriend's house whose mother and brother has decorated with all sorts of christmas lights, hanging stars, a christmas tree, ornaments and a blow up santa in the front yard. 

I myself am not a very religious person. As I have mentioned before I am religious in my own way but do not conform to a particular religion so I don't see Christmas as a day that Jesus was born. Like my mother had said; would Jesus have wanted us to spoil our children with toys on his day of birth when the unfortunate kid down the road gets a gift from the two dollar shop? I don't think so.
But the idea of giving to one another is still quite lovely. And the getting together of families is lovelier. Seeing cousins and distant relatives you don't see very often but still share many younger memories with.

My boyfriend's aunty, uncle and two young cousins came from Canada for the holiday. The first time in seven years.
His mother had only gone on about it for a year - exceptionally excited to see her once baby sister again. And I only hope that when time passes and our lives become different and go down separate paths, that my siblings and I will remain close and use this holiday as an opportunity to be reunited again, no matter where our lives may lead us.

These ideologies and sudden feelings of gratification for my family and life weren't quite like this the last Christmas, or the Christmas before. 
I couldn't purchase presents and I rarely got along with my nanna and pop so why would I want to spend the holiday with them? But I am glad to say that maturity has slowly changed this, and although we may not see eye to eye, I appreciate them and their perspective nonetheless. 

But what I want to say is that I am truly so appreciative of my boyfriend's family. Especially his mother - who has provided me with mothering advice and mothered me when my own mother was an hour drive away and had younger children to deal with. Sitting around with their family, meeting my boyfriend's aunty and talking and making jokes with his uncle has given me the sensation that I belong. I don't feel out of place. Or like a distant relative. They have taken me in as one of their own. 

My sarcastic and often misunderstood humour is accepted and laughable with them. 
Boyfriend's uncle said whilst discussing back in the teenage years about alcohol being purchased from a weirdo outside the bottle shop: only problem about that nowadays is that weirdo makes porn and sells illegally...
Me: when did that start happening? About the same time you became a dad? 
That earned a few chuckles. 

And of course I am appreciative of my boyfriend too. I feel like home with him and he has brought me into a family I had always wanted.