Day 5

Merry Christmas, we are only on the fifth day.  Christmas is my most favorite time of the year. In the past it's always been fun but for many years it played out the same over and over. I knew where I would be, who I'd be spending it with, what I'd do, eat, even what I was getting. These were all traditions that fit where I was at the time. Those days are long gone. This Christmas was full of the unexpected and I honestly didn't know how it would all turn out.  Some plans didn't work out, but there were beautiful accidents that brought to me the realization that I was in the middle of a most significant Christmas, perhaps the first real one I have ever had in decades or in my whole life.

The morning before Christmas eve we set out to find a tree. Woodville is full of Charlie Brown looking pine trees I like to call wild, Woodville pines but are in fact loblolly pines. They also remind me of vintage, aluminum trees and probably look best decorated minimally with one Shiny Brite glass ball  at the end of each limb and maybe some tinsel.  I can't do minimalist Christmas decorating. Our tree looked more like those trees that drown in tinsel, paper chains and kitsch on any Christmas episode on any old television show. 

This year, I managed to collect little holiday relics and created a sort of Christmas altar that rivaled the tree for August's attention. August continued to make adjustments to her new tree, even more fun with tinsel. She picked out a few of the pieces for the altar and squeals with delight of how cute they are.  She has really made decorating fun this year. I am looking forward to collecting cute, Christmas decorations through the year, as we happen across them in thrift stores, and creating Christmas altars with August.

Instead of the usual breads, fruitcake and cookies, we had gingerbread cookies shaped like woodland animals. Thank you to a sweet friend at Moonshine Junkyard for her giftie. I won't ever forget the sweet little package that arrived and the new tradition it began or the inspiring, adorable, thoughtful family behind it all. We dined on delicious crab cakes at midnight with a wonderful salad of grapes, apples, spinach, pine nuts and walnut raspberry dressing with a side dish of roasted butternut squash, radishes, carrots and beets. Our plates were colorful, flavorful, tasted like our Christmas. It was at that moment I realized, Our Christmas is happening, the scents, the flavors, memories and traditions. 

Christmas eve quickly became Christmas morning.  We were one of Santa's last stops. He swung by at 5am and left a toy kitchen that looked like it took forever for the elves to complete and must have delayed Santa. White packages sporting the official stamp were under the tree. Jacob and I watched It's a Wonderful Life and watched the slow fade of the glowing tree lights as the Christmas sun made it's way into the room.