The Ghost of Christmas Past

Sometimes, it takes a call from someone who's known you for a long time to make you feel like things have fallen back into their place. I had been having a rough go at it today. After two rounds in the guilt trip ring with my dad and an argumentative and unproductive night on the phone with Steve, I was feeling as though another mediocre Christmas was almost ready to be put into the history books. It might remain so, however, I got an unexpected phone call from someone who knew me and loved me way back when, and an hour later (which passed while my dog patiently waited to be taken out to the bathroom, and ended up peeing on the carpet) I felt like there was someone who really believed in me the way I wanted to be believed in. Someone who thought that I was kind and warm and together and a fighter and a survivor. And it felt good to be believed in tonight, when so many little things had gone wrong. To that person - Thank you. You brought Christmas a little closer back to where it belonged.