118 lines
4.9 KiB
Markdown
118 lines
4.9 KiB
Markdown
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---
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title: "Christmas in Massachusetts"
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description: This year, I spent Christmas with Tess and Erin in Massachusetts.
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date: 2024-12-25
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resources:
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- src: snow-friend.jpg
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title: The tiniest snow friend
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- src: erin-snowballs.jpg
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title: Erin making snowballs
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- src: minot.jpg
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title: Minot Light sits on an undersea ledge far out from shore
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- src: sand-hills.jpg
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title: The sea wall along Sand Hills Beach, where Tess spent many summers
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- src: bluey-erin-kathleen.jpg
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title: Heading into the Heeler's living room with Auntie Kathleen
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- src: bluey-green-door.jpg
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title: Waiting to go through the secret door!
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- src: bowling.jpg
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title: Erin's first game of candlepin bowling
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- src: old-brigade.jpg
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title: Danny (on the center mic) and the Old Brigade at Fox & Hound in Quincy, MA
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tags:
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- Holidays
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- Christmas
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- Family
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- Tess
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- Erin
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- Candlepin Bowling
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- Massachusetts
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---
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This year, {{< tess >}}, Erin, and I traveled to Massachusetts to spend
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Christmas with Tess' family. This was my first year spending Christmas away from
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my family in Arizona, and my first with Tess and Erin.
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One of my hopes for Christmas in a cold place was to see some snow. As luck
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would have it, I woke up on Christmas Eve to find a light dusting! Erin and I
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couldn't help ourselves: we rushed outside to make a few snowballs and the
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tiniest snow man you've ever seen.
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{{< 2col >}}
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{{< figures/image name=erin-snowballs.jpg >}}
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{{< figures/image name=snow-friend.jpg >}}
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{{< /2col >}}
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We opened presents and had a lazy Christmas morning. We had dinner at Tess'
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parents' house, and then went over for Christmas dessert at her cousin's house
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-- a truly massive family event with many extended family members attending.
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The next day, Tess and I went "down harbor" for lunch and a little walk around.
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We stopped at [Lucky Finn](https://www.luckyfinncafe.com) for a coffee, and Tess
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took me around to see some of her old summer stomping grounds. I asked her to
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help me get a good view of [Minot Light][minot], but it turns out it's really
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damn far out so I only managed a little speck on the horizon.
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{{< 2col >}}
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{{< figures/image name=minot.jpg >}}
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{{< figures/image name=sand-hills.jpg >}}
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{{< /2col >}}
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On Friday, Tess, Erin, and I went candlepin bowling at [Alley Kat
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Lane][alleykat] in Kingston. Despite some initial hesitation, Erin had a lot of
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fun. It was my first time at candlepin bowling too, and I found it really fun!
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Harder than "big ball" bowling, but also more approachable because of the
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lighter, smaller ball. The opportunities to strategize how to use the fallen
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pins to your advantage add an interesting element too.
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{{< 2col >}}
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{{< figures/image name=bluey-erin-kathleen.jpg >}}
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{{< figures/image name=bluey-green-door.jpg >}}
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{{< /2col >}}
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On Saturday, Tess, Kathleen, and I took Erin to an immersive [Bluey camp][bluey]
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in Burlington. She had a great time building a fort out of the big cushy
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oversized "blocks" in Bluey and Bingo's playroom.
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{{< 2col >}}
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{{< figures/image name=bowling.jpg >}}
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{{< figures/image name=old-brigade.jpg >}}
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{{< /2col >}}
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Our last day in town, we went out to brunch at [The Tinker's Son][tinker], and
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went up to [The Fox & Hound][fox] in Quincy to watch Tess' cousin
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[Danny][brigade] play Irish music.
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---
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I had a lot of feelings going into this Christmas. Apart from one pandemic year,
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I've spent every year with my family in Arizona. I was worried about being in a
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new place with people I didn't know well, breaking long-standing traditions with
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my own family, letting them down, and feeling homesick.
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Everyone in Tess' family was welcoming and supportive. Tess' mom even got me a
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stocking for their fireplce with my name on it, and her dad filled it with many
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of the same things he gives to the rest of the family members. I also got to
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watch Erin experience Christmas as a kid for the first time: opening presents,
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playing in the snow, snuggling and reading books or watching TV together.
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I was able to keep some of my family traditions too. Mom sent me a box of full
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of cookies; I shopped for presents for my parents and sister. And when we
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returned to California, I was able to have a video call with my family to open
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presents together.
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The older I get the more see the point of Christmas to be about the
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relationships to family, and the sense of home and community you get from being
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with people you love. Despite a whole new experience, I really felt that this
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year. In fact, I think being in a new place, enacting different traditions, let
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me hold the traditions and rituals of Christmas as I've experienced up to now a
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little more loosely, and to focus on the people that bring meaning to the
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holiday and make those rituals happen.
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[minot]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minot%27s_Ledge_Light
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[bluey]: https://camp.com/bluey-x-camp-boston
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[alleykat]: https://alleykatlane.com
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[tinker]: https://www.thetinkersson.com
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[fox]: https://www.foxandhoundquincy.com
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[brigade]: https://www.instagram.com/theoldbrigade/
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