My happiest holiday (no, really!)

December 26, 2025December 26, 2025 / Cate Tracey / 2 Comments

Yesterday was probably the best Christmas I’ve ever had. I used to love my family get-togethers before my estrangement took place, but holidays haven’t been spent with my biological family since 2018 or 2019. As much as I miss spending time with my parents, Alex and I will be seeing them next month, and that dedicated quality time will mean so much to me.

I was tossing and turning on Christmas Eve night into Christmas Day, and Alex let his parents know that I was feeling anxious and emotional about my past. My first Christmas with his family in 2023 was nice but it doesn’t even compare to the love, support and ease I felt yesterday. I couldn’t be more thankful for that.

We visited Lau Lau (Alex’s grandma) for lunch with all the aunts and uncles and their families, then had quality time with Alex’s parents and brother on the Tracey side, followed by a lovely dinner at Aunt Susan’s and Uncle Ray’s house. Spending quality time with the cousins and our friend Trizzie was super fun, and it felt very much like the cousin time I’d had as a kid long ago. It was nice to feel young again, and I haven’t felt that way on Christmas in probably almost twenty years.

I couldn’t be more grateful for Alex, the love he has for Linley and me, his parents, and entire family for welcoming Lin and me with open arms. As my therapist always says: I deserve to feel safe and loved in every space, and I felt that way in spades yesterday. My father-in-law even turned to me, we clinked champagne glasses, and he told me how happy he was that I was there. And my mother-in-law told me that she looks forward to many more years of love and celebration to come.

What a great way to end a wild ride of a year!

Photos taken Christmas Day, 2025✨

My happiest holiday

December 26, 2023 / Cate Tracey / 10 Comments

To feel a true sense of belonging and welcoming from Alex and his family means more than I can’t put into words.

When I was living in the Midwest, I had to scramble to find alternate holiday plans. I don’t mean to be a Grinch with what I share below, but I do want to set the tone for how past holidays with my immediate family would go: There was absolutely no way that I would spend a day of gratitude and love with my brother and his wife who I’m estranged from, or parents who will never love me the way they love my brother, or family members who judged me for being with men who weren’t white, for my tattoos or for my willingness to go to therapy to break our toxic family cycles of generational trauma. Short story long: I always spent time with friends and their families to avoid what I would deem as nothing short of toxic.

The only cousin I’m close to and her fiancé Ben visited us a couple weekends ago, and it was a great way to kick off the holidays! We played games until midnight and had fun at some of our favorite local restaurants. I love Katy more than she’ll ever know. 💛

Last month, I made a new friend while taking Linley to the dog park on one of my days off. Ariel and I went on our first “friend date” of many, and even Alex loved how close we became! It was definitely fate. ✨

Alex’s and my first Christmas together was nothing short of amazing. And it’ll be the first of many. 🥰 Linley and I had so much fun with his family relaxing in the morning, eating great food throughout the day and enjoying some espresso martinis along the way. Alex and his family welcomed us and have made us feel a sense of belonging since the moment we moved down to Georgia in September. We couldn’t feel more lucky. 🥹