Home alone Christmas night. These chocolates have been sitting in the cupboard for months. Now that it’s December 25, I feel like it has been an appropriate amount of time to allow anyone else in the household to enjoy the sugar before permanent disposal.

It’s been fun bonding with my mom who sometimes helps me take photos. I can’t believe she accepts my artistic weirdness. We’ve come a long way together. Proud of the progress as a family unit. She got me these giant elf slippers and said, “You can use them for your feet stuff!” I teared up inside. Wow, receiving her approval for the first time. And for this of all things.

My mom remarried recently. Getting to know the new family has been a slow but rewarding process. I grew up with essentially no one except my mom and we had a falling out for ten years. I’m used to being totally alone.

Using a spatula from my new grandmother. My new aunt made the tennis balls hanging from the tree. It’s becoming a family affair.