“I’ll be home for Christmas” was a song that would always make me feel a little sad. Not because I wasn’t having a wonderful time every year, but because I couldn’t imagine the possibility of ever getting home for Christmas. A million reasons that for a million other reasons I could find a way until this year.
As a child, Christmas was a magical time. It was tradition in our house to leave the tree lights on Christmas eve and the multicolored glow seemed to beckon to us all night. My brother, sister and I always plotted out who would wake who first. Lucky enough to have parents just as excited as we were our presents were opened long before the sun began to crest the ocean. The last time I woke up under the same roof as my parents Christmas morning was last century…
Operation I’ll be Home for Christmas
Every year I seemed to get too overwhelmed to deal with all the moving parts of getting home for the holidays. This year however, it was just a matter of deciding to buy three tickets to Nova Scotia on Christmas Eve AND telling no one but my sister so we can surprise our parents. Simple. Even a snow storm in Toronto couldn’t stop us.
With marriage comes multiple family’s and with ours additional traditions. Every year we celebrate a Hanukkah/Christmas celebration with my husband’s family. We also have a get together with his step father and their family. It’s tradition and I love it and I didn’t want to give it up. I wanted it all and was happy that they all supported this new adventure and helped me organize a day and time for all the other celebrations just so I could wake up Christmas morning with my family.
Surprising my parents this year was beyond amazing. My mom was completely stunned. She just kept looking at her granddaughter trying to believe what she was seeing. It was beyond amazing.
We opened presents and shared an amazing turkey dinner. There was time to reminisce about the year Santa brought my brother the much talked about GT sled, my sister her barbie camper and me a shine gold forty-niners jacket. I still have that jacket hanging in my coat closet. It was everything a family holiday should be. Deliciously cheesy, heartwarming, full of belly laughs and lots of love.
I hope y’all got home for Christmas, even if it was only in your dreams.
Blueskies,
Tami