9th grade. December.

Tamarind:
Thank goodness finals are over. One less thing to think about over winter break.

The plan is to spend the first part of the week with Mom through Christmas Eve, and then go to Dad’s apartment for Christmas and spent the rest of our vacation with him until school starts in January.

I didn’t come up with this plan. Mom and Dad did. I wanted to have a simple Christmas, but yet again, I’ll be moving from house to house. I thought about saying something, but I didn’t want to upset either of my parents; they’re more fragile than they look. So I stuffed my feelings, and I went along with their decision. As usual.

Though, I do like having two Christmas trees.

Lilo:
It’s Christmas Day, and Tamarind and Grover are gone. I took them to Jencks’s apartment this morning, and then I drove to Mommy and Poppy’s house to spend the rest of the holiday there. But I miss my children. After much internal deliberation, I decided to open up to my parents and tell them how I was feeling. They in turn told me about their first holidays without all of their children at home, when we’d moved away for school or for work or for relationships. I realized that this is a preview of letting go once Tamarind and Grover go to college and won’t live at home at all.

At least Mommy and Poppy had each other in their empty nest. I’ll just have me. Maybe it’s time to get out there and see what’s shaking. My friends keep telling me about singles’ mixers, even though half of them are married and living vicariously through my unattached life.

Fine. The next one’s scheduled for New Year’s Eve. No pressure.

Grover:

Dad says I have the Boxing Day Blues. I told him that with two homes and no chimney, there’s no point in believing in Santa anymore.

I thought that when your parents split up, you get twice the presents, because they are each trying to buy your love and make up for traumatizing you for life. Tamarind told me our parents were downsizing and I should make do with the generous gifts I received and some children don’t get any gifts and don’t have any parents. I told Tamarind I expected Mom and Dad to give us more stuff to make us like them more. How else can we decide who our favorite parent is?

Tamarind gave me a dirty look and told Dad she was going to hang out with Brimley and Zinnia at the Monkey Bar.

And why wasn’t I invited?