Christmases have been kind of hard for me since every single member of the large, close, happy Waller has clan passed on, or left for parts unknown. I'm all about kith and kin and for the past couple of decades I've spent the holidays feeling terribly "family sick". There's just something that felt great about spending Christmas with people whose DNA I shared. After I met Nettl it got even harder because her immediate family tends to look at me as a nice but unredeemable antichrist, they being dyed-in-the-wool Southern Baptists and I being their once-preacher's-wife daughter's same sex partner and all. We spent our first decade together celebrating the holidays within our own blended family: Nettl, myself, and our five kids who are now all grown up and out of the nest...
Since last year, however, I've been able to feel the warmth of a clan again thanks to Nettl's extended family. Last year, they came from Tulsa and Dallas on Boxing day, and we had so much fun, they did it again this year. They came in two cars and a motorcycle; together, we numbered twelve. I made
that huge Mexican meal and we sat around talking and laughing
—it was so much like the Waller clan
—and really enjoying being with each other. Then, Kevin took me out for a ride on his motorcycle.
All of the Christmas holiday was fantastic, but yesterday was the best ever. Little Bookends Cottage fairly reverberated with warmth, laughter, and love. I love my new family!
