My Christmas Birthday

Happy Christmas Birthday to Me!

My dad decided on my name in his typical, logical way. He researched it and Natalie means "Christmas baby." That afternoon, my mom went into labor and had to drive herself and my non-English speaking grandma to fetch my dad at the park. He was playing football and jumped in the car covered in mud. I was born that night at 10pm. Since everyone predicted that I was going to be a boy, my Chinese name includes the character "brother."

Being a Christmas baby has always provoked interesting reactions. Most fall into one of two camps--those who think it was great and those who think it would suck. I always thought it was great because my family would overcompensate when I was a kid. I guess they felt bad since I got 1 for 2-fer gifts and it was the easiest birthday to remember--and to forget.

I never thought it was a drawback. I, actually, would receive the biggest pile of gifts and get a birthday cake. So, I didn't really miss having friends over for a party. It was always a family affair and that was fine. Of course now, as an enlightened, progressive, non-materialistic, eco-friendly, solstice-celebrating adult who eschews the over-commercialization of the season, gifts aren't that important (unless it came from the Patagonia or REI store...) :)

After the divorce and the growth of extended families, it's been hard to get everyone together. Those were tough milestones at first--shuttling between parents, sisters moving out of town and out of country, the first Christmas away from Atlanta. But Christmas was a special holiday, not because we were Christians, but because it was my birthday and I always came home for my birthday.

Now, for the first time in 15 years, I was home for Christmas to celebrate a milestone birthday, not as a visitor, but as a resident. Ironically, it felt like a non-event. Both my sisters and my dad would not be here and my mom and I were not sure how we would spend Christmas until yesterday. I couldn't help but feel sorry for myself, even though I knew I was one of the luckiest people on the planet. Where was my family on Christmas? I couldn’t just call a friend to go out, everything was closed. What was going on?

Let's see, last week I celebrated the Winter Solstice with 30 new friends. Tonight, I added an uncle, aunt, four cousins and 4 "new" nieces and nephews. On Christmas Day, my mom’s best friend will be hosting a dinner for us. The next day, we will visit with another aunt, uncle, cousin and 2 new nieces, all of whom I haven't seen in over a decade. In addition to the local events, we were welcomed to join several out of town celebrations.

The usual suspects weren’t here, but my circle of family and friends was growing. Yes, this year my Christmas Birthday will be different. In years past, my family celebrated me and my homecoming. Now that I live in Atlanta, the best reason to celebrate was local! The birthday wish had been granted and now it was time to re-connect and create a new circle.