37 Marbles
…Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of year
Vince Guaraldi Trio
So yesterday was Christmas and Ex-man and I did our best to negotiate what would be best for the kids so they could enjoy their favorite time of year. On Christmas Eve we participated in our tradition of going to a friend’s restaurant and preparing food for the homeless shelters. Our kids are all old enough to come along and deliver the food and they loved spreading the Christmas spirit to those whose holidays weren’t so cheery.
After the delivery was done, Ex-man followed us back to our house where he slept outside in his camper. The kids didn’t want to have to wait for him to wake up, make his latte, get ready, and drive over for the present opening. The camper seemed like the perfect solution as it would allow him to stay up, watch a movie, and smoke (without bothering me) in his little home-away-from-home.
The new normal for this year involved us spending the day together and the evening at Ex-man’s sister’s house. Seeing as I didn’t have other family to spend Christmas dinner with, this worked out fine for me. His family has been in my life since I was fourteen and they have become part of my extended family. Since our kids didn’t want to have to split their time between us and Ex-man and I both wanted to be with the kids, this arrangement worked well for this year. It did feel a bit like “olden times and ancient rhymes” so next year I’m open to being more about moving on and creating a life with less of Ex-man in it.
If you have kids, have you managed to find the balance between doing what's good for them and doing what's right for you? How do you juggle breakups and the significance of holidays? If you do it with ease and grace, perhaps you'd like to share...
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