With my sisters in the Toronto area and my brother in Newfoundland the answer would appear to be “No”, but is that true?

I had breakfast with the homeless and volunteers at Resurrection Life. I had my Christmas turkey dinner at Seven Oaks Alliance with hundreds of other dinners. Both halls were well populated with people I know and with whom I exchanged meant wishes of a Merry Christmas.

In between I got to visit, play bingo and carol with a diverse group of homo sapiens, most of whom I have shared the past several Christmases with. This custom started when, in the knowledge that I had no place to go or share Christmas with, I was invited to come and join the celebration.

Although my recovery and activities have resulted in other opportunities for visiting and celebrating the Day, it would not have been Christmas without attendance at this special celebration.

It was sitting there, in a in a moment of quiet reflection between bingo games, that I found the true answer to the question of family and Christmas. Yes I was celebrating Christmas with family and friends.

For family, friends and community are terms that we each, as individuals, get to define for ourselves. Not with words and rules but with our hearts and spirits.