Christmastime

Christmastime.  You know ahead of time it's going to feel a little weird.  You expect it.  Maybe you're not sure how the weirdness will manifest, but you know it's coming and you'll just have to deal with being "off-balance".  Our Christmas Traditions have been involuntarily altered.

For me, it seems we kids spent a lifetime of Christmases trying to figure out what to get Mom and Dad.  How can we surprise them?  What would they need?  How do we sneak it in under the tree?  It was a team effort.  Always.  We would throw out ideas, bat them around, and eventually find the right gift that fit into everyone's budget AND was special enough to bear the crown of being THE Christmas Gift.  Whether it was a new computer, or television set, or a getaway trip to Santa Barbara it was always so much fun planning what to get them for Christmas.

 
And, Dad's birthday on Christmas Eve.  The get together was always at the house on Christmas Tree Lane.  (I think the main reason Mom bought that house was because of the address)  Even after Mom passed, Dad kept the Christmas Eve tradition.  The house always looked so nice with Mom's decorations and the fireplace warming the living room until you had to peel off some clothes and get comfortable.  We would have the big gift exchange to see who could steal the best gift from everyone else.  But before the Christmas festivities, we had to celebrate Mary and Dad's birthdays first. This year I can't tell you how many times I caught myself  thinking, "Better call Tom and see what we're getting Dad for Christmas."  Yeah, it's going to be weird.

It's time to move on, create new traditions.  They won't be much to begin with.  Traditions are kinda like trees you plant as saplings and over the years they grow and get stronger and bigger and have a few more branches added until they are so big and deeply rooted you don't think anything can ever bring them down.

Yeah, it will be weird, but the best thing about Christmas is that New Year's is right around the corner.  We can get 2012 behind us and look to a fresh beginning.

Merry Christmas