Life As We Know It – #1

Kay and I thought it would be fun to give everyone a glimpse into our worlds, both as individuals and as a couple. She’ll be guest posting on my blog from time to time, and I’ll be guest posting on hers. We’ll vary the topics and hopefully use this feature to chronicle the eventual awesome that will be me moving to California to be with her. The ups, the downs, the struggles and challenges we both face together and as individuals…it’s all just life as we know it.

 

If all goes well, this will be the final holiday season that Kay and I are apart. Knowing that the move is coming next year, we’ve already begun discussing and planning some holiday traditions we want to include as we finally blend our lives together.

Christmas is my favorite holiday and has been since I was a child. Then, it was a time of snow and presents and being joyful about being out of school. Both my grandmothers made it magical. My Grama went all out decorating the inside and out of her home. My Grandma Jean loved it because it was what brought all her kids and grandkids together. We had a routine: Christmas Eve at my Grandpa Tom’s house, then home to open a present that night. Christmas Day breakfast with my Grama and Pa, then Christmas dinner with my Grandma Jean.

Over the years, the traditions slowly fell into disarray. Everyone’s lives became busier, and we lost my grandpa and both my grandmothers. Now, thankfully, my Pa is still with us, and we still get together for the Christmas Day breakfast. It’s one of the few times a year my bustling family all comes together.

But somewhere along the way, that magic fizzled out. Maybe it was because my brother and I grew up and stopped believing. Maybe it was because everyone stopped making time for lazy evenings together, or maybe it was because the linchpins holding us together were gone. There was no Grama to make her favorite cookies and host our snowball fights. No Grandpa to light a roaring fire in his fireplace and hold us in his lap as he showed us the money he’d put in savings accounts for our futures. No Grandma Jean to make crescent rolls every year. No little cousins running around anymore.

Now we were all grown, gone, scattered.

Then, I met Kay, and we became us. We realized that we both cherish the holidays as a time of reflection, family togetherness, and counting our blessings. And in planning for the move, we also talked about Christmas Eve and Day traditions.

I am so blessed, every day, to love her, and to be able to plan to spend my life with her. I know we will reignite the magic of the holidays together, filling the season with love and light and happiness.  In a busy world, we’ll make time for one another and the family we create together. We’ll shut out the stress the season can bring and embrace only the reasons to be thankful.

Hello, 2016. Hello, new traditions. Hello to my life with the girl who is my future. 

Be sure to check out Kay’s Life As We Know It post for her thoughts on this topic!