December 25, 2010. My first, true, white Christmas. (Although my parents may correct me. There may have been one when I lived in St. Louis as a kid). It was gorgeous. Snow flakes coming down. Side streets completely white. Everyone dreams of a white Christmas – or at least we are convincing when we sing about it. It was the perfect second Christmas to have as a married couple.
Except, it wasn’t. One of the hardest things about getting married is combining holidays. Figuring out how to split them. Especially if family is all relatively local. When everyone is within a few hours you feel (And want) to get to see everyone. Which can lead to an unrelaxing day of burning up the roads. For 23 years (minus a year or two when we lived in Florida and Missouri), I had spent Christmas Day at my grandparents in Winston-Salem. In 2010, Matt and I had decided to do Christmas breakfast at his parents in Marion and then drive to my grandparents for lunch.
That morning we woke up to a gorgeous, white front lawn. With the snow coming down, I just did not feel comfortable driving the two hours there. In college, I’d had a wreck in the icy, snow while living in Boone and ever since I do not like driving in “bad weather”. So we decided to spend the whole day at his parents.
At one point my girly emotions couldn’t take it anymore. I went out on the front porch and with tears in my eyes, called my family. In my head I knew it was irrational to be that upset. I was 24 years old for crying out loud. I spoke to my mom and grandmother, apologizing for not being able to make it. I remember my mother-in-law walking out to check on me. I felt absolutely terrible about the scene I’m sure I was silently making.
Fast forward to December 25, 2016. Another white Christmas. Another Christmas not at my grandparents house. But, it’s a whole different world. The snow has been coming down all morning. And it’s a snow unlike back home. The best way I can think of to describe it is like sand. It doesn’t stick together at all. It is light and fluffy and so soft! And while I would love to have all of our friends and family here with us, the three of us have had a wonderful, relaxing day together.
Change is hard. But, I am blessed that we live in a time of FaceTime and video chats. While we may not be able to be with all that we love, it is wonderful to still be able to experience the joy of the day together for a bit.
We spent a slow morning eating breakfast, opening presents and playing with toys. Christmas music playing…and Sports Center. Haha!
Then we headed out into the snow.
While we were letting Liam swing (over…and over…and over!), I asked Matt what he thought our next Christmas would look like. No matter what Christmas’ in the future look like, I know that some special memories were made this year…and there will be many more to come!
A joyful heart is good medicine,
But a crushed spirit dries up the bones.Proverbs 17:22