This is my third Christmas away from “home”
(I.e. the place where I spent the first 23 Christmases of my life)
With technology and an internet connection
No one seems so far away
I can instantaneously see pictures of my family
Celebrating
It’s both a relief and heart breaking
A relief to be away from the stress of family politics
Heart breaking to be away from the familiarity (ha!) of it all.
Until I went traveling
All my Christmases had been celebrated in summer
Seafood and outdoor lunches and cricket
And then my first white Christmas
Spent on Nantucket
Candles in the windows
A delicious chill in the air
Suddenly the traditions all made sense
The lights, the roast, the warmth of it all
And I love being overseas
The thrill of being able to walk through Covent Garden
And hearing a beautiful soprano voice
Laura Abella
Filtering up through the rush
The smell of mulled wine and chilly air
The rustle of people
Laughing at the giant sparkling Rudolph outside the Royal Opera House
The massive Lego advent calendar opposite the Actor’s Church
The sparkle of lights in London
And arriving at my love’s house
After 16 hours of travel
And finding he has strung fairy lights across the entire front porch
Last year he came to London
And we had Christmas dinner in a pub
Friends from Turkey, Greece, America, and Australia
Combining and sharing and making our own traditions
We spent Christmas Day eating food and watching movies and the entirety of Firefly
It was lovely
This year we’re in America with his parents
And we’re going to see a movie
And eat Chinese
And enjoy the quiet
And wonder what next year will bring
And hope to remember to be mindful
And bring peace and love and light and joy
No matter the day of the year
And thinking of all the people I know across the globe
And wondering how they are,
And, no matter what they’re doing
Or how they celebrate,
Wishing them a very merry Christmas, now.
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