The Times They Are A Changin'

I had early (9AM) work today. We had some cranky customers, probably due to the continuing heat, but things were generally busy but not problematic.

I spent the afternoon watching the original 1988 Hairspray and working on little things on my computer. I'd only seen Hairspray once or twice on cable, just bits and pieces. Despite the PG rating, this is for slightly older kids than the remake (there's a rather weird zit-popping scene, a riot in an amusement park, and lots and lots of references to insects in the finale), but it's still fun. The original film has some interesting characters that didn't make it into any subsequent versions (the fathers of Amber Von Tussle and Penny Pingleton, the bigoted station owner) and a wonderful soundtrack of real 50s and early 60s dance hits (which I have on CD).

The other big news came towards the end of the day. I made my usual Sunday call to my mother in North Cape May. After almost twelve years in the same house behind the WaWa (and almost 30 years of renting houses in the Cape May/Lower Township area), she and my stepfather have finally decided to buy a house in the Villas area of Lower Township, near the Cape May County Airport. It's apparently a small, brand-new house in a quiet neighborhood where a few friends of Mom's live. They want to have everything done and ready by December, meaning they won't have the money to do Thanksgiving or Christmas at their house this year.

On one hand, I'm happy for them. I know Mom's been wanting to move out of North Cape May for years. The house they currently live in needs many repairs, the neighborhood isn't what it was when we moved in, and they don't really need and can't keep up with their huge yard. Mom and my stepdad are getting older, Keefe's only going to be around for a few more years (and isn't home much anyway), and little Skylar isn't around all the time.

On the other hand, this leaves me in a bit of a bind for the holidays. I've never spent Thanksgiving anywhere but with my family, and Christmas on my own did not go all that well last year. I really don't want to spend either by myself, but I may not have a choice if everyone else is busy.

This is when I really start to feel alone. I wish I could host Thanksgiving. I wish I had a family of my own to spend holidays with, so I wouldn't have to worry about going over to someone's house or the other and feeling out of place. Holidays weren't made for single people.