When I was growing up, the holidays meant getting together with family. Lots of family – aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, kids running around everywhere. Each holiday was an occasion, and it was a really super way to grow up.
Now I am raising my own kids, and the one thing I am just unable to give them is that atmosphere I so enjoyed when I was a child. There are no cousins their age, and not even one cousin that lives in our town. The holidays are still wonderful despite it thanks to my dear mother and her strong efforts. We go to my Mom and Dad’s house for most holidays, but it’s typically just us. We might drive to Phoenix to visit my husband’s sister and brother-in-law, or sometimes we travel further or family members come to town to visit us. For the most part though, holidays are much more quiet than I remember from my childhood.
I miss my family, and I wish so much we were all together, because one thing I never realized when I went off to college was that all of those gatherings were just done with, and that they would never happen again. It really is so sad.
I’m aching for my hometown at the moment, and that is why my song of the day is “My Hometown” by Bruce Springsteen. Because, even though I don’t think I’d want to live there again, I really do miss it and especially my family very much.
