With Christmas quickly approaching, I am reminded how difficult it is to focus on "the reason for the season" with a million places to go and a million things to do on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Guess how long the 3 of us were away from home on Thanksgiving Day...10 1/2 hours. That's right, 10 1/2 hours. Munna's at 1:00, Dianne's at 3:00, and Bev's at 6:00. And like Jeremy said, each individual place was enjoyable, and the time spent with each family was great, but the cumulative effect is simply outrageous! I can't stress enough how much I treasure being around our families, but something's gotta give.
The reality is, though everyone claims to understand our plight, no one is willing to budge on what our family members consider to be age old traditions. Of all the places that we went on Thanksgiving Day, no one at those locations had to go more than one place in the same day...no one except us. With all due respect, it is kind of hard to understand how it feels to us to seemingly travel the world every single holiday until you've walked a mile in our shoes. You remember my post about starting new traditions...well, I'm trying, but when we are pulled in a million different directions every holiday, little time remains for our own new traditions.
In fact, Jeremy and I spent most of our first 5 years of marriage saying that when we have children, it will be different. We won't trounce all over town every single holiday. Well, this is Cooper's second Christmas, and we haven't been true to our word yet. That is all about to change.
So. Jeremy and I have spent a great deal of time tonight searching for a solution. We'll suck it up for one more Christmas, but next year, things will be different. For once, we are going to put our own little family first. Whether it be alternating destinations from year to year or simply opting out of some gatherings, it's time for someone to speak up for Cooper and all the other boys and girls who get dragged all over town every Christmas. More importantly, we are going to reserve a little time for what REALLY matters this time of year -- in recognition of the birth of our Savior. When I ask myself "what would Jesus do," I think the answer might be a little different than what we've been doing so far.
4 comments:
I understand. It is really hard to travel and keep everyone happy.
Allison - we could talk for hours about this (and we probably have). I agree whole-heartedly with deciding to put your immediate family first, and most importantly, Cooper. This year we are staying at our house all day on Christmas Day so that Caroline can play with her toys, in her room, at her house. I know we will make some people upset, but we've got to start doing OUR own thing sooner or later. I guess we've opted for sonner.
Can a get a big loud AMEN from the blog world? This is one of the best post I have ever read. I am currently jumping around punching like a boxer before his bout. I am ready to battle for my family too. Thanks for saying what I have been trying to put into words for 17 years. Joey 6'tall 178lbs orange trunks
We've all been there Allison. We do understand. Those of us who were present at the only place we had to attend that day actually have walked a mile in your shoes.
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