Holiday Travel...

Is there any other holiday that has as much time travel involved as Christmas?

It's so steeped in traditions that it can't really help itself. And not just individual traditions but "Hey MY family does that too!" traditions. We can't really help but take the trip down memory lane every year.

Christmas growing up was a big deal. Religious family so yeah...

I can remember Christmas Eve Candlelight services and how exciting it was to be old enough to FINALLY hold a candle during the closing song. Not to mention how cool it was to stay up until midnight. And beyond. Because after services we would go home and have eggnog and cheese and crackers. My mother had these fancy crystal dishes where the cup had a compartment and there were individual squares to put each treat. I loved them.

I remember the year I announced that Santa had the same wrapping paper as we did and my parents took that as their cue that the jig was up and I knew the secret.

I didn't, by the way, I just thought it was cool he had the same wrapping paper that we did. But the jig was up anyway...

I can remember waiting for AGES for John and Ann to finally get to the house so we could open presents. I can remember the first year we did the White Elephant exchange and some of the hilarious gifts we got through that. And the year Denny kept telling people they really did want his "art" where he had nailed walnut shells to a log and put googly eyes on them. I think Jeff ended up stuck with it which we all thought was so funny, until Denny cracked open the shells and there was money in each of them!

Then there are the decorations that went up every year. The nativity set that had the angel you hung from the barn roof that I would fly all over the house. The old glass balls that came from Grandma and Grandpa's tree that Mom took when Grandpa died. The angel that always went on top. She had a staff that she held (I think it was supposed to be the STAR) and so in my mind I always kind of put her and Glenda together into one beautiful being.

Funny thing, in October when we were home for the funeral David brought out the angel. She was not as large, nor a beautiful as I remembered her to be. I think I will stick with the image in my mind.  That's the beautiful thing about time travel, you can mold it to your preferences.

Then, of course, there are the holidays after Brent and I got married. Calling home on Christmas day and having the phone passed around from person to person. Can I just say how much I hated that? It was always so awkward. "here talk to your sister!" Umm...they want to be playing games or eating or unwrapping gifts and I just want to get off the phone. But okay... I figured out how to time the call to BEFORE the whole family was together so I could just talk to Mom and Dad. Then eventually over the past few years Mom would call sometime in December and we would skip the Christmas day requirement all together.

And then when Christopher came along? Well those Christmas memories are wonderful. There was the year he was 3 and every time he would unwrap something he would announce "It's just what I always wanted!" and then move to the next, "It's just what I always wanted!"

There were the years we were back in Albuquerque and fitting in both families and two jobs and a toddler and rushing from holiday event to holiday event and....

Thank goodness we moved. I mean, it's fun to have a big family at Christmas and play games and eat so much you're going to burst, but...

I love my small family and our small traditions. Going to the movies. Eating fish on Christmas eve. And now picking out our own candy for our own stockings. I like that it's quiet and calm and we just enjoy being together. And of course we eat so much we feel like we could burst.

But part of what makes those traditions so lovely is the time travel that comes with them. The dozens of times we've watched the same Christmas movies, the times we've hung the same decorations. The jokes we've told, the songs we've sung, the places we've gone. And the people we went there with.

This year I have a few friends who are experiencing the first Christmas after losing someone. Parents. In-laws. Sons. Daughters. Spouses. It's hard. I know. And my wish for all of them is that they find some comfort in the time travel this year and know that eventually it will be sweeter, less sad.

Merry Christmas Eve to you all. I hope you enjoy your time travel over the next few days and that the return to the present is lovely and warm and you make some fabulous new memories to visit in a few years.