Reflections of Christmases Past - Part 1 - The Good…
As the spirit of the season is upon us - the season of
giving, family, alcohol, friends and those warm and fuzzy feelings, I’ve
started to reflect upon Christmases past – the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The Good
I’m very fortunate to say that all of my Christmases have
been good ones. I can’t recall a
holiday celebration that I’ve felt I was short changed in any way.
Don’t get me wrong – they certainly wouldn’t qualify as
being up to the old-time standards of Norman Rockwell or “It’s a good thing”
perfection of Martha Stewart, but each one has created a unique memory of its
own.
J and I were engaged on Christmas in 1987. It wasn’t as romantic as it could have
been, but that wasn’t his fault.
He tried to get me alone for hours, but my extended family of younger
cousins weren’t getting the hint and tailed us all day until he finally gave up
and got down on one knee in front of a crowd of 15 plus family members. That man deserves a medal – my
family is brutal.
In 1990, we spent a good old fashioned Christmas with my
grandparents in the east coast. We
drove 18 hours straight on December 24th to get there in time to spend
Christmas Eve with two of the most loved and entertaining people on earth. Nothing says old fashioned Christmas
like 12 different pies sitting in the pantry and being woken up on Christmas
morning by the sound of Christmas carols being sung by your grandparents.
It was Christmas in 1991 when I discovered I was pregnant
with The Boy. That was the year I
put up a Christmas tree, but never did get it decorated and I wouldn’t let J do
it for me. So there we sat on
Christmas morning in front of a bare naked tree.
In 1992, we celebrated our first Christmas as a family. The Boy was a mere 5 months old
and had no interest in the events of Christmas, but we tried to engage him. I will say, he did look fantastic with all
of the bows stuck all over his bald head.
While I’ve only shared a few, there are many, many more where
those came from and I can guarantee there won’t be a shortage of future
memories to be made.
Tomorrow…the bad.
Comments
Thank you for sharing.
I can't remember any bad Christmases either... it's definitely my favourite time of the year!
Although the past 3 years when we haven't had the whole family around the tree have been a bit bittersweet... and this year I'll be one of those missing as I join my sister in New Zealand for the holidays...