My supposed best friends gave me and my husband a bottle of wine for Christmas. I can’t drink wine because I have an allergic reaction to something in wine, and they are very aware of this after me having reactions to foods at restaurants we would go to together. So they gave ‘us’ a gift that I can’t actually have.
This comes after my husband and I have spent the last year being there for them through losing their jobs, their car, almost losing their house, and a bunch of other drama. It also comes after we spent all day making a meal free of their allergies, as I always do, and after I spent several days making Christmas cookies that are safe for them.
I don’t know if the bottle of wine is cheap or expensive, and it honestly doesn’t matter. Last year they got me an ornament for our tree, and it is one of my dearest possessions because it has a small poem about friendship on it. This year’s gift stung because of how much of ourselves we gave to them, only for them to clearly pick up something last minute and without any thought.
I don’t really have any family or other friends to celebrate with, so the most important people to me besides my husband are them. It hurts to see how little I apparently mean to them in comparison…
If you are asking if she knew beforehand, yes. We once had to rush out of a restaurant because a dish included wine and I didn’t know until my mouth felt like it was on fire. She has been there many times as I have had to explain it to others, and when I have been checking food to make sure it doesn’t have wine or vinegar.
If you are asking if I have mentioned it to her since she gave me the gift, no. I haven’t had the energy to try to deal with that conversation, I still have plans with people through New Year’s. I will probably bring it up in a few days, but right now it hurts to even think about and I just want to get through the rest of the holidays.
Oh I will be having that conversation in a few days. I am taking a lesson from my therapist and letting myself rest from the hurt and decide what kind of resolution I want. I have a history of crumbling when I get pushback for standing up for myself, so giving myself time to sit with the feeling for a couple of days helps my brain realize that what she did was actually bad, and not just me overreacting.
For years I was in a bi-monthly cooking group. We usually met at a friends house and would make dinner there. One night all those terrible things your mom and your aunt Sally forced on you came up....
My most hated was macaroni salad. Bowtie noodles with Miracle Whip, peas, shredded carrot, dill, and salt. Occasionally other items would make an appearance, but the main recipe was the most common.
It was so bland and mushy, and it wasn’t helped by the fact that it was made every few weeks during the summer, and in a quantity that meant I was eating it for lunch and dinner for almost a whole week every time it was made.
Yes! I make my own salad with fresh dill, onion and garlic powder, homemade mayo or olive oil, a bit of fresh basil, and baby spinach leaves to add some crunch. I just don’t call it pasta salad or macaroni salad because the name is forever associated with blandness to me lol.
So, who or what ruined Christmas this year?
Most hated chilhood dishes
For years I was in a bi-monthly cooking group. We usually met at a friends house and would make dinner there. One night all those terrible things your mom and your aunt Sally forced on you came up....
What piece of song lyric you can really relate to?
I’m not talking about the full lyrics, but just a phrase or a sentence that you feel is right up your alley....