Same. I record a lot of strange things to watch, make interesting foods. Leave the past in the past and ignore them all. I know your family can be a bit intrusive, just tell them you will be away for the holidays and do whatever you want. Have a special happy time. 

I will happily send you cards and cookies, my dear. Is there any way to PM me your address? You deserve all the good things.

Banana! Gratitude and love right back!

Tina sends you some holiday cheer❤️❤️❤️

That's so frightening!

Know the feelings and struggle with ‘em, too. Remember there’s a lot of folks who think your awesome and inspiring with the things you’ve overcome. Onward and upward!

Happy Christmas, Maya! It’s wonderful that you’re volunteering <3 And you’ve convinced me to find time tomorrow to buy some mascara for my church’s gift collection for the women’s refuge.

Hey, I’ve been there. I love the holidays, but they can hurt, hard. I still kind of miss/don’t miss my dad. He loved Christmas too (the only other person in my family) and he was great company until he was drunk and belligerent and scary.

I got gifts for my mother for free.  She reads voraciously and reads junk (she’s the first to admit it).  I’m not allowed to buy her new books since she thunks it’s a waste of money--she reads used books and donates them.  So I’ve been scouring my neighbourhood--there’s this “little free library” program where people…

I’m in the same boat, Pumpkin. Well, a similar boat, anyway, since at least some of the reasons sound similar (for me it’s a combo of an awful lot of past trauma/abandonment/loss, no parties or events to look forward to bc of my chronic pain, no money for fun stuff or gifts). I’m sorry you’re going through a rough…

We are doing secret Santa for stockings this year and I got my horrible sister in law. Every item I'm giving her is handmade or second hand, and all along a particular colour scheme, even the stocking itself (handmade canvas tote.)

Do you have any friends (or the Bartender) to spend time with, even if it’s not specifically festive? Holidays can suck, but if you can find a way to de-emphasize what you “should” be doing and just spend a bit of time with the people who do matter, it can help.

Maya, I popped in hoping to see you, and am rewarded. I wish you all of life’s joy, for the holidays and going forward. May next year be a better year. I know that your little slice of the world is better because you are in it.

I’m dreading it a bit too, for similarly complicated reasons.

‘Tis the season! The gingerbread looks so divine, I can almost smell it from here!

Big love to you Maya, we are the miracles we are waiting for.

That sounds amazing and super thoughtful 😊

I used to feel that way about the holidays too, although not from the family trauma that you’ve experienced, but having drifted apart from my family and then having nobody to spend the days with. And then, I’m not sure when it happened, I realized that I hadn’t actually enjoyed dragging my sorry ass out of the house…

It might not sound really exciting, but I’m looking forward to him opening it. In the spring my husband and I went to a chocolate making demonstration, and this French chocolatier had samples, one was, in his opinion, the best chocolate in the world, and it was really good chocolate. Valrhona, a French chocolate…

I’m feeling very holiday-unhappy. I’m trying to look ahead but holidays bring so many unwanted, dreadful memories and feelings from growing up with that absolute hell vortex of a family. Plus I don’t have any gift exchanging or parties to go to or anything. It's a very dragged-down feeling.