Christmas merry?

So, yeah. I've noticed that things are becoming distinctly un-christmassy as of late. I suppose that has something to do with the fact that it just happens to be January 13. Who would've thunk it?

We spent Christmas at home this year, which was nice. Christmas not-at-home just isn't the same. Then for the rest of my precious, precious vacation, we stayed in Massachusetts.
Now, I had it pretty easy, as I was staying with my horsie aunt, who is my shorter, red-haired great-minds-think-alike buddy. However, Mom did not have it so easy. You see, she suffers from a general affliction called "genetic obligation," in which the sufferer's mind is twisted in such a way that they believe that, no matter how crazy or difficult your parents are, you should always stay at their house.
I love my grandparents, really, I do, but when I found out that my aunt was more than happy to have us stay at her house, I jumped for it. I believe in self-preservation. Apparently, Mom does not. I think it will be another few days before she is finished with her post-Christmas detox. Psychological warfare takes a few days to recover from.
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On another note, how pathetic is it that you've finally grown to enjoy life and appreciate the smaller things, yet you still feel an intense childhood jealously of your filthy-rich-but-in-denial 9 year-old cousins when they show you their horde of Christmas presents?
... and by "you," I mean "I"?
Grrrrr!

Calm down. Calm down. Think happy thoughts, and of Willie, who's better than any object and can love you back... :)

Happy Birthday (Catcher-in-the-Rye-esque)

Friday was my birthday. I stopped having real birthday parties once people decided that not letting me know that they aren't actually coming was in vogue. Instead, I now enjoy spending the day with my family and being the center of attention which, being the middle child, is a big deal.
We haven't had the whole family together without the extended family crashing our get-together since Christmas 2008. It is difficult to adjust to having to share the bathroom with two extra people, and not knowing when someone is going to be a bit strange on whatever day. One thing that really gets me is the fact that I'm ill equipped for dealing with even more highly intelligent people traipsing throughout my home. My emotions go off the charts because it's almost like I know what they are feeling before they even know. It's always been that way, but it's even worse after finally getting used to not seeing my siblings around and then being suddenly bombarded with their prescence in the house. The thing that kills me is that usually their responses are illogical and do not match with what they are emoting at the time, and I overreact as a result.
I love them, I really do, but it seems that we all have to relearn how to deal with each other or else someone is going to go off the deep-end.
Happy Birthday.