Holiday In-betweens

I think it is insane to act married when you are with old friends who clearly know you are divorced.



There really should be a name for the week between Christmas and New Year's.  I am open to suggestions.  I have always worked that week but lets face it not that much is accomplished.  Perhaps like semi-retirement we should call it Almost New Year's or End of Old Year or Holiday Wrap Up.  I have always found it to be exhausting since after late night dinners catching up with friends I drag my weary, sugar overdosed, heavy laden body out of bed, splash water on my face and show up at work with some leftover mascara from the night before.  This year is a little different since I am not married but still meeting mutual friends.  My own friends have the good sense to meet after the holidays and brighten up an otherwise long cold winter.

Of course it is no surprise to any divorced couple that some of your friends go with him and some go with her.  Since we are "amicable" my family has continued to accept him as a family member while I have no contact with his (and that is fine by me.)  We have a few mutual friends that are at times baffled, amused and downright confused about our divorce and subsequent friendship.  But this is the week we really test the limits of our friends and our own tenuous ties with holiday festivities.

I will not even venture into the topic of what gifts to give mutual friends, who buys what gift and what do we give together or separately.  I always have a few extra on hand in case someone has a gift for me even though they swore last year we were stopping the exchange. 

Well time to douse my face and head to work so tonight I can meet our friends.  On the way to work I will compose some lighthearted stories about the dogs my ex and I share in order to fill the awkward silences.  I plan to introduce some salt into my diet while shifting seat from one group of friends to the next which is not easy in a Japanese Steakhouse.  That's my Holiday Wrap-up for the End of Old Year, Happy Almost New Year I will be back in 2013...