"Mom, Dad wake up it's CHRISTMAS!" With difficulty I open one eye to see Ethan's beaming face inches from mine. "And there's stuff in our stockings and LOTS of presents, come on!" The clock says 5:25 a.m. I've been in my bed for exactly 2 hours and 12 minutes. Anyone who is a parent can understand why.
Somehow we managed to stave off the eventual rising (of the near-dead) for another 48 minutes. Sure enough, Santa found us and even left presents under our 'untraditional' Christmas tree.
Sidebar: A couple of weeks before Christmas, the tree was sourced in a nearby locale frequented by would-be 'seasonal' loggers. As we traipsed around looking for the 'perfect' tree, each of us citing a different tree as the one, Emily beckoned me with a "Hey Mom, how about this one "chuckle, chuckle".
It was perfect and I told Emily so.
"You're kidding, right Mom?"
"No," I said "I'm not. Think about it. We're having a non-traditional Christmas in the summer in Australia so why should we have a traditional tree?"
And so we'd found our tree.
Back to Christmas Day:
The stockings are un-hung (no chimney) with flare,
The Pressies un-wrapped, St. Nick - he was there.
Despite our surroundings, it was a pretty typical Christmas Day. Not like the Christmas those of you in Vancouver would have had (now that was a-typical!)
We spent Christmas afternoon and evening at the home of one of Martin's co-workers (an executive, actually). He and his wife live in a lovely home about 5 minutes away from us. Many years ago they were living in a new place away from family and friends. It was Christmas so they decided to invite some other 'alone' aquaintances to share Christmas dinner with them. Since then they have continued their 'Waifs and Strays' Christmas tradition and along with another work family, we were invited to join them. It was one of the most wonderful Christmases I've ever had. Their family was warm, welcoming, friendly and large. The food was great (cold ham, salads, hash browns (!?), etc. - actually can't remember the rest), the company was great, the kids made some new friends.
It was lovely. Our first Christmas in Hobart. Of course we missed being with our families and the kids really missed seeing all their cousins. But it was special. Martin and the kids and I were experiencing Christmas in a new place but we were still enveloped with laughter and commaraderie, sharing and caring. The basic foundations of the celebration of Christmas, christian or not, are these things; the giving of oneself, in whatever way, for the love of another human being. We were surrounded by humanity and felt cared for.
We are blessed.
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