Boxing Day

Instead of braving the mall madness, this boxing day was spent as an honourary 2nd Christmas reserved for friends. This was the first time I'd done it and I hope it wasn't the last. It unfolded essentially how I always imagined Christmas should be. I had the morning to wake up slowly, with no expectations of any sort. Then once I was showered, make-uped and ready to go, my husband and I went to go to our friend's house. We hung out, joked around and played some Samba de Amigo on Wii while snacking on treats. Gifts were exchanged and pets were played with. Then we gathered round to watch a hockey game, which may have been the first time I'd sat through an entire hockey game from start to finish. After the game, we ate one of the greatest holiday meals I've had, followed by watching numerous episodes of The Big Bang Theory while eating pie and ice cream. We talked until 10:30 at which point the boys decided to battle it out in NHL 2K11 while the girls all said their goodbyes and went home, realising that it just wasn't worth putting up with an hour or two of video gaming since we'd all had to put up with it in our own homes where we can't escape.

Ok, so maybe not exactly what I always imagined, but it was pleasant, far less awkward than anticipated and actually fun from beginning to end. I didn't actually feel the need to come up with an excuse to leave early. Usually I like to have an excuse ready so I don't get stuck because I'm weird like that. In fact, I often joke about developing agoraphobia due to how much time I spend studying alone and how little time I spend talking to anyone but my husband and only now am I realising how the need for an escape is yet another check for agoraphobia.

Point being, I had fun and realised that holidays don't have to be awkward, or full of expectations or silly traditions. What's important is having fun in good company that lifts your spirits for at least a little while. So, I hope that this year everyone out there was able to have some fun and get their spirits lifted.

And in closing, I would like to direct people to this awesome song by Garfunkel and Oates which is about something that I can only assume is why Boxing Day exists.