Because my family lives in WI and James' family lives in VA, our plan is to alternate spending Thanksgiving and Christmas with each family. We haven't started the alternating until this year - I am staying in VA for Christmas and celebrating with James and his family. While I am so excited to spend Christmas with James for the first time, I am sad about not being with my family. I am comfortable and used to my family and our traditions - I love them! I always look forward to eating the Christmas Eve food my mom makes (that my grandma made before she passed away). I like to see my parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We've started a gift swap exchange that has been a lot of fun...
I don't know what to expect with James' family for Christmas. They have their traditions - although I'm sure none too different from ours, they will be different. I've asked James a bunch of questions - what times we go where, what to wear, who we give gifts to. It's foreign to me when typically the holidays are full of wonderful tradition. But that's part of getting married and blending families, right? Learning new traditions and creating our own. I am so lucky because James' family is great - they are so nice to me and welcome me to any event. They include me in everything they do as a family. I can't imagine entering a family where that wasn't the case! How terrible to dread holidays and family gatherings because you don't get along with your (future) in-laws. I'm sure this Christmas will be fantastic and I will learn new traditions while James and I create a few of our own.
Merry Christmas to all my family and friends! Enjoy spending time with your families this holiday season and may you find comfort and joy in the traditions, new and old.
Update: It's Christmas night and I wanted to add that the past two days have been hard for me - I've cried twice, my mom has cried, and I've missed seeing my family. I LOVED being with James this morning to open gifts and check our stockings. James's family was wonderful and we shared great faith, food (Barr/McElfresh/Rose chefs - mmmmm), gifts, and conversation. Don't get me wrong, it was lovely but it wasn't the same. I'm sure this routine will get easier and start to feel "right" but honestly, this Christmas just didn't feel the same. I am grateful for my family, my "new" family, and my friends who all love me so much - if they didn't I wouldn't have things to miss or other good stories and traditions to pick up. I hope they know how much I love them and treasure them in return.
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