We are two weeks from Christmas, but I've had trouble getting into the Christmas spirit. When it's 80 degrees and sunny, it just doesn't feel right. There are decorations in stores and you hear the occasional Christmas song playing, but the Christmas frenzy is not anywhere close to the same level as in the States. The woman at the BTC cell phone office where we bought a SIM card for faster data on our phones said they may extend their hours and be open the Saturday before Christmas because of the holiday shopping. Contrast that with our all night shopping beginning Thanksgiving evening and Christmas decorations in the stores and the not so subtle advertising urging you to "buy, buy, buy" presents beginning in October!
We are hunkered down in a marina to wait out a significant cold front (cold meaning low 70's). WInd is forecast to gust up to 35-40 knots today and we just heard a radio report from a boat that said the seas are 15 feet high! We are quite happy to sit tight here! So I took the opportunity to decorate the boat with a few decorations I brought while listening to Christmas music. David says the decorations remind him of the tacky ones in "The Christmas Story" movie! Colored LED lights, unbreakable balls and a little fake tree! But actually it kind of works and the lights give off a warm cozy festive glow down below. I also baked a family Christmas tradition-pumpkin cranberry bread-and will put it in the freezer for when the kids come in a couple weeks so now it smells like Christmas!
We are not exchanging gifts with anyone this year. I thought it would seem weird and I might not be able to do this. I usually go way overboard on Christmas presents, but this still feels ok. We certainly don't NEED anything (except parts for the boat that we ordered and the kids are bringing!). The best Christmas present of all is our kids are coming to spend the week with us on the boat! We are so looking forward to sharing our world with them! Erin and I are planning on baking our oatmeal chocolate chip cookies when she gets here. We will have lots of good family time in pretty cramped quarters. This just seems like a much saner way "to do" Christmas (although some of us may be feeling rather insane by the end of the week!).
We have so many Christmas traditions in our family and many of them I will miss this year. I will miss the Christmas Eve service at our church and driving over to the Friendly Center area to gawk at the hanging light balls in the trees. I will miss the fresh Christmas tree smell of the decorations in the house and all of the wonderful food we only have over the holidays and all of the parties and getting together with friends and family. I will miss my family's big Christmas gathering in Baltimore at my parents ("Cousin Christmas"). So it is a mixed bag as many things in life are. You have to give up some things to gain others.
We miss our friends too. Being away from home has made us both realize how lucky we are to have such a great group of friends in Greensboro and Wake Forest.
Wishing all of you a magical Christmas season filled with joyful time with friends and family, and lots of good food and good cheer. Hoping you also take time to remember that the reason we celebrate Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Christ!