Christmas As A Family
As every military spouse knows, spending the holidays — or any important days — together is not something that you should count on. Matt missed Thanksgiving, his birthday, Christmas, New Year’s, and Valentine’s Day last year, and almost missed Ben’s birth. This year, he missed Thanksgiving and his birthday. He won’t be here for Valentine’s Day, for our anniversary, for Ben’s first birthday, or the birth of our second son. When you have to miss all of these holidays, being able to spend one together is a rare blessing that you have to take advantage of.
We decided to have a relatively low-key day just lounging around the house in our jammies. I made Christmas dinner: turkey, mashed potatoes, carrots, crescent rolls, homemade cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie for dessert, and we opened all of our presents. And that was it. We didn’t need a lot of fuss and excitement. We were together, as a family, and that was what mattered.
Ben wasn’t all that interested in his presents. I was slightly surprised, because everyone always talks about how the babies love the wrapping paper. Not this baby. He actually barely noticed the wrapping paper, and enjoyed playing with his toys once we opened them. (Clearly, I chose well.) I bought Matt gifts he could take to Afghanistan with him, and he bought me a diamond ring and a lot of stuff for the kitchen. We finished the day doing a video chat with my family members who are spread up and down the east coast: some in Florida, some in Massachusetts.
It may not have been an exciting, fun-filled Christmas, but we got to spend it together. It was relaxing, and the most important part was that we all got to be together. When you live this life, you can’t ask for anything more.
What did you do for Christmas this year? Any thing special?
I’ve had friends who celebrated birthdays & holidays when their loved ones were home, not necessarily on the specific date. Young children won’t know the difference but they’ll have the memories.
That’s actually exactly what we did for Thanksgiving. Matt left for training the last weekend of October, so we did Thanksgiving dinner right before he left.