christmas - by nancy - general zuo's chicken

losing the magic

i cry every time i see a christmas tree. all the christmases i skipped come rushing back. i’m taken back to the lonely time before christmas break in high school, when i watched others receive presents, but had no friends of my own that i cared enough to give a present to. the christmas tree that sat in our living room, never taken down. decorated once but never again. diluting the meaning of christmas by its permanence. i never understood what it felt like to celebrate a holiday and what it felt like to have parents who are festive. the most they’ve done for my birthday was remember,…

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