After a chaotic hiatus of starting a new job and preparing for the holidays, I want to start again from the beginning.
The initial reason why I created this, and the name of the blog itself, both deal with relationships and understanding.
As most of us have spent a lot of time with family and close friends recently, I find it appropriate to reflect and react to the experience of 'going home' for the holidays and being around relatives.
There is something very special about familiar bonds that last throughout the years, and the time spent with loved ones should be appreciated and remembered. The tricky thing about family is that, while they are the most familiar to you, and you have a unique comfort level with them, you continue to grow and grow up all through the year without them.
Interacting with the people who have been around you all your life, and see you in a particular way can be challenging, especially when the title of 'adult' grows nearer to you. They have watched you leave childhood behind and grow taller and wiser, and while they may know your sweater size, they don't necessarily know who you are anymore.
Catching up on conversations, laughing together, eating meals together, and sharing with one another are what make this time of year so special and important, and I look forward to many traditions that my family upholds over the years.
But I still know that when I grab a beer from the fridge on Christmas eve, or talk about my career goals with loved ones, that many of them are looking at me as the 2 year old walking on her tip toes or the 12 year old obsessing over Hanson, not the person in front of them.
We were all strangers once,
And sometimes we become strangers twice.
