Christmas Past and Christmas Present

Amist all the Holiday festivities, I am going to take time out to write this blog post. It is really strange for me this Holiday season. I am torn between the old and new. So let's take a walk down memory lane for a while.
Christmas Past:
Around the beginning of December my sisters and I would head up to the attic where all the stuff my mother and father wanted to keep hidden from guest would be. Climbing into the attic was always a momentous occasion in the house it only happened four times a three times a year, but I will save that bit for another post. Back inside the attic it was always chilly and dark but we knew our way around to the Christmas section, which basically was half the attic space anyway. It would take at least an hour to haul everything down into the now cramped living room but it was worth it. My favorite part about decorating was separating the Christmas tree sprigs into the different color coded sections and spreading the branches out. First we would decorate the ten foot slender tree full of gold Christmas themed decorations. Then we would move to the dinning room where we would decorate the silver tree which was my favorite. I should mention now that Christmas was my mothers favorite holiday. She loved all the decorating, cooking, gathering it entailed. I remember the first time my dad let me climb on the roof and help him hang Christmas lights. It was exhilarating. I am a bit afraid of heights but once I stopped focusing on the ground and instead on the task at hand of untangling lights it was fun! The best part about Christmas past for me was the food though. We would spend weeks planning menus and looking over my mothers old cook books planning the perfect food items. Shopping was always rough though because a big family means lots and lots of food. One of the foods my sister Faith and I would make every year was Watergate salad and heavenly hash. I hated the heavenly hash because of the cherries but I loved making it every year. Rice krispie treats were exciting to watching the marshmallows bubble up and listening to the crack snap and pop sounds. Meatballs and smokie links were a must and bacon wrapped chicken livers were the worst but my father loved them. Lots and lots of cheese cubes and pickles to munch on along with ham/cheese wraps and veggies for the taking. If you went hungry at Christmas it was your own fault. The best part wasn't the decorating, or the food but rather the company. I loved spending time with my folks, sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews playing games, laughing, talking, and just sitting around. It was nice. I would not trade those Christmas day breakfast's for anything either.

Christmas Present:
Tomorrow marks the second Christmas that I have spent away and the first Christmas season that I did not spend with my family of "origin". I am a little down trodden by this because of all the good memories I have associated with this season. I will not let it keep me from making new traditions and memories however. I have spent the past two Christmas with my best friend and her family. It has been a blast. Card games, board games and camaraderie galore. I have learned through the past few years that you can have a family of origin and also a family of choice. I have chosen this wonderful group of fun, loving individuals as part of my family and I do believe they consider me part of their family as well. Today we did something I am not use to we opened Christmas presents. Going around in a circle one at a time each of us would open a gift. It was peaceful watching everyone and seeing the look of happiness as each gift was unwrapped. I should mention my best friends uncle is a funny individual. She and I got the exact same things from him in our bags and her two brothers both got the same thing as each other as well. That is my kind of shopping there :) It was all really nice and I got a beautiful card from the grandmother. The food might not be as exciting as I have had in the past but it is an adventure everyday seeing what is going to be for lunch and supper.

I do want to make mention of the real reason behind Christmas, which is Jesus and His birth. Without that there would be none of this Holidayness. So I ask myself and you who read this to take a minute or two out of your busy holidays and reflect on why we celebrate and who we are really celebrating. If you get a chance also you should check out Luke 2:1-? and Matthew 1:18-?. I hope you all have a merry christmas and joyous new year :)