Neither of us spend Christmas with our family, spending it instead with each other and the ad hoc, unlikely family we have assembled here in Philadelphia—good friend and dog walking buddy, Shirley; Daniel who is a pain in the ass but who I have known since God first coughed the universe into existence; Lloyd and Sandy who used to live across the driveway. They are the core group. The rest is an ever changing mix of new friends and acquaintances. This year we had a colleague from work and her son.

When they arrived, I hugged Wendy and shook 5 year old Levi’s hand. “Merry Christmas,” I said.

“We don’t celebrate Christmas,” Levi responded.

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