Merry, Merry, Married Christmas!

Jeremiah proposed to me on Christmas night 4 years ago, and one of the first things out of my mouth (after saying yes) was to make him promise that we could spend Christmas Eve at my house the next year. How romantic 🙂 I just couldn’t stand the thought of losing our whole Christmas ritual…piling in Mom and Dad’s bed Christmas morning while we waited for everyone to wake up, Dad going downstairs first to “see if Santa left anything for ya’ll this year” (really he just needed to be the first downstairs so he could set up the video camera), the anticipation as we waited at the top of the stairs (in birth order no less), and then racing into the den to see what delights Santa had perfectly arranged (like he worked for the Price is Right). Not only did I not want to give this up after marriage, I wanted to share it with Jeremiah. My poor grown-man husband went through that entire ritual with grace and excitement, just like he was 12 years old.

This year, however, I felt the need for our own family’s Christmas. Maybe it’s because of Pace, and maybe it’s because I didn’t have much of a choice this year since Jeremiah had to work, but I just knew that this year I couldn’t line up at the top of those stairs. It makes me cry now to say it, but it’s true. Peter Pan lost out at my house this year. So, Pace and I made a quick trip to Dothan and came back late Christmas Eve so that we could wake up in our own home on Christmas morning. When I woke up, I started cooking a big brunch instead of piling in Mom and Dad’s bed. Instead of walking around in my pajamas all morning, I gave myself and Pace a bath and got us all gussied up. Then Jeremiah got home from work and our true Christmas festivities began. Fortunately/Unfortunately, it was time for Pace’s nap, so we put her down and Jeremiah and I were able to spend a cozy brunch together by the fire. We were able to talk about how we had grown over the past year and reflect on how sweet Pace had enriched our lives. We shared the kind of words of encouragement that are hard to say unless you are caught up in a magical moment like this one was. The kind of words that require constant reminders from your mind to your eyes to hold that eye contact and not look away in embarrassment. We exchanged gifts, and Jeremiah’s were so filled with thoughtfulness and love that it made me cry. I think that all of these moments were great blessings, but the greatest blessing of all was the realization that WE were enough. We love our family, and we missed them and all of our normal Christmas rituals, but in the end all we needed to make Christmas full was each other.