A Complete Christmas

I had been struggling a lot this semester feeling lonely and like I didn't really belong anywhere, but I ended up strengthening relationships with people that made me feel so welcome. I was really scared for winter break because I thought it was just going to be a month of torture the entire month being away. I had facetimed my cousin Dylan and we were hoping that his family (The Kinneavy's) could visit mine like last year, but it seemed unlikely. Spoiler alert: it wasn't as unlikely as we thought!

Honestly, the time leading up to their visit was still a bit rough for me. I stayed a week after I finished my finals because I dreaded going home so much and I also got to stay with my roommates longer. After everyone left, I was extremely reluctant to go. I spent the next week doing pretty much absolutely nothing. I had originally planned to do more machine sewing projects and work on my scrapbook from junior year of high school that I have not added to since turning it in, but my laziness and procrastination got the best of me.

The week managed to pass pretty quickly and I was ecstatic to see them when we met up at the Comcast Center for the annual Holiday Spectacular! At the end, they added bubbles coming from some penguins to disperse fake snow.

Throughout their stay marathoned The Mandalorian with Dylan and Uncle Kevin in a few days (10/10 recommend) and we all really enjoyed it. Julian had already seen it and my Aunt Jo came in to watch a couple of episodes with us, but she wasn't a huge fan.

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A couple days after christmas, my mom's other sister and her families gathered with us to have dim sum at Ocean Harbor in Chinatown and it was delicious. It was really nice to have everyone on her side of the family in once place, and I even got to treat my cousins to bubble tea a second time! It was such a pleasure to see my other cousins Andrew and Arthur and catch up with them since I don't see them very often either. Andrew and I could relate about being an advisor and he let us know when and where his wedding would be! It's so crazy that he's getting married in just a few months!

After dim sum, we gathered at the Airbnb the Robinsons were renting for the weekend, and to no surprise, we all played video games. However, this time was different because after my cousins and I played Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime for two hours straight, we handed the controllers over to our parents. It was really fun to watch them play and guide them as they struggled more than we did after making comments on how we were doing just prior to being handed the reigns themselves.

On the Kinneavy's last full day here in Philly, I finally went ice skating for the first time this year with Aunt Jo and Dylan! I absolutely love ice skating even though I'm not very good at it.

After ice skating, we went back to the house for about an hour before heading out to see Jojo Rabbit. (10/10 highly recommend)! It's a long movie, but it's an amazing blend of darkness and comedy that will have you laughing and crying within the same five minutes. If you're into historical fiction and comedy, you won't be disappointed by this masterful blend of the two!

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The Kinneavy's left today and I'm really sad to see them go so soon. I rarely get sad being an only child, but these cousins, Julian and Dylan, were really like brothers to me and I wish I had their company more often. They're the ones that taught me how to play Super Smash Brawl and Ultimate and throw a frisbee with me and their dad, Kevin, a longtime ultimate player.

A week only felt like a couple days and I wish I had more time to spend with them. I'm going to miss having family to throw a frisbee with who knows what they're doing and people to play the other type of ultimate on the switch and win 1/15 games.

Thankfully, I'm going on a week-long vacation in Panama in just four days, so I know it's pretty much smooth sailing from here until school starts up again.