It's Christmas all over...

...whether we're ready or not. It'll be a strange kind of Christmas this year, one we always knew would happen sooner or later, one we kept hoping to avoid regardless of this knowledge. It'll come and we'll celebrate it the same way we do every year, and yet it'll be completely different then it's ever been. We'll enjoy Christmas Eve with some light food, a lit tree, candles burning and Christmas music playing softly in the background, and yet part of us and our thoughts will be miles away. Christmas morning we'll make coffee, take down our stockings and see what Santa has left us over night, we'll have a smile and a tear because we'll take down one stocking less then usual. The dogs will get their treats and we'll think of Christmases past. 

21 years ago we had this skimpy, little Charley Brown tree with just a couple of presents underneath it but we were able to hold the best present ever in our arms, our then 7 month old baby. He was fascinated by the lights and the shiny ornaments and he received one of his favorite teddy bears back then, that bear carried him through many childhood boo boo's and problems. 

Today that baby is a US Soldier and is stationed far away from home and therefore we'll spend our first Christmas without our son, and that alone makes it totally different then it has ever been. We were sad when we found out he couldn't make it home, but we certainly understand the reasons why.
We are happy that he is still in the same country and time zone as us, a blessing that many other Military families don't get to have this year, and I'll be thinking about each and every one of them. We know our son is in a safe place, together with friends, keeping warm without being horribly hot and doing well.


I had the chance to bring him Christmas early, to spend some time with him, to see where and how he lives and spends his days these days. I got to talk to him lots, laugh with him and just sit and enjoy his company for a few days and I will cherish this memory as much as many other memories from the past.


He's all grown up these days and one day he'll start his own Christmas traditions - which hopefully we'll still be a part of somehow. 
This year however his Dad and I will sit, have our Christmas coffee and share some stories we haven't talked about in a while and maybe dig up some old pictures to remind us of that very first family, Charley Brown holiday together.


Merry Christmas to All!