It’s Christmas and even though giving and receiving is what we do at this time, it still feels so special.

I thought it would be a no-brainer to give yesterday, I didn’t end up doing anything until late at night when I wrote a card to a friend I haven’t seen in a long time. And then I wrote to my grandparents, and then I did a bunch of things I’d been meaning to do for a while like pay bills. I like how once you start stretching, it gets easier to keep going.

I was out all day and when I got home, a friend had left me a beautiful turquoise scarf on my doorstep.

Today was my first Christmas ever! And although I had a migraine, it was still fun and cheerful in many ways and I loved getting to celebrate with James. I gave him a camera that he can take to India. I got an orchid for his dad and stepmom and an amaryllis for his grandmother. And I received the most wonderful, thoughtful gifts. James gave me almost everything I need for my Werma shrine, which was incredibly thoughtful and something I’d been needing to do for a while that I wasn’t going to get around to any time soon (which James knew of course :). His dad and Nina gave me a beautiful calligraphy set. His mom wrote me a sweet sweet note and gave me a cool water bottle — because she wants me to be healthy, James said. And his grandmother gave me a framed picture of little James at probably age 4, which of course, made me cry.

The gifts were wonderful, but what meant much more to me was feeling like, in some small way, I’m part of their family.

Oh, and our mailman wrote us a beautiful card and gave us a candle to say happy holidays.