Reading the Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve right after opening a present (always an ornament) from my parents, watching the Santa Claus, driving around looking at the sparkling lights on the houses, bringing plates of cookies to neighbors, my sisters and I sleeping in the same room, waiting until everyone is up before we go downstairs to open presents, cinnamon rolls for breakfast Christmas morning, and a big family dinner that night…these are just some of the Christmas traditions my family has built over the years. Traditions that I love and look forward to every year, and largely what makes Christmas feel like Christmas. Another part of Christmas was the beautiful world outside our front door. Tall mountains, evergreens and aspen trees everywhere, all of which being covered by a lovely layer of snow, making it feel even cozier inside. Last Christmas I knew that it would likely be my last Christmas at home for some time. I always thought I would have snow though. I even told my mom last year that even if I lived in a place that didn’t get snow, I would wake up Christmas morning and drive until I found some. I was completely serious too. At the beginning of the holiday season this year, I was struck with a huge wave of homesickness. I quickly discovered that knowing I wasn’t going home, and dealing with the reality of it are very different things. The idea that I wasn’t going to be home in Alaska with my family made me want to cry. To top it off, Maine has been having an abnormally warm winter, and snow was nowhere in sight. Then on Friday the 23rd I woke up and looked out my apartment to see a thin layer of snow covering the world with more softly falling! And what did I do? I loaded up my car, got in and drove out of the snow into rain, and then into a dry, warm day. Eight hours later I arrived at my aunt and uncles house in Pennsylvania.
I walked into the door and immediately spotted the tree. It wasn’t that hard, the tree was massive, by far the biggest indoor family Christmas tree I have ever seen! My arrival was followed shortly by the arrival of all my aunts, uncles, and cousins, on my mom’s side of the family, and what followed was a wonderful evening full of good food, games, presents and laughter. I hadn’t seen anyone from my mom’s family in over a year, and I was thrilled that I got a chance to over the holidays. I went to bed that night feeling extraordinarily happy that I was exactly where I was. I fell asleep filled with Christmas spirit and looking forward to the rest of the weekend.
Saturday was probably the laziest Christmas Eve I have ever had in my life, but I absolutely loved it. I was the first one up, so I spent some time online checking Facebook and e-mail, and catching up on the news. When my grandma woke up, we made coffee and sat at the kitchen table drinking coffee, eating Dunkin’ Donuts munchkins, and catching up on our lives. My cousins Michelle and Kevin made their way downstairs after a while and provided some entertainment. Grandma and I eventually made our way to the sunroom, by the tree, and proceeded to have more coffee, munchkins and good conversation.
At some point that morning, I learned that my aunt and uncle had in their possession the movie Breaking Dawn, and of course I decided that I HAD to watch it. When my aunt woke up she suggested that we just have a full out Twilight marathon. Now like I said, it was hard for me to be away from home on Christmas Eve, and I missed all the things my family always did. But a Twilight marathon is a pretty awesome alternative. We had lots of leftovers from dinner the night before, and snacked on those throughout the afternoon. At one point I pulled out my crocheting, which caught the interest of my youngest cousin Kevin. He loved watching me, and then asked to try himself, and he was really good! When Breaking Dawn ended (such a good movie!) it was after 10pm, so my cousins headed off to bed. I stayed up a little longer and watched the last hour of the Sound of Music on TV with my grandma. By the time it was over we were both tired, and we too went off to sleep.
I woke up at 7am Christmas morning, and as she had requested, woke up my grandma. We headed downstairs, made some very strong coffee, and sat in the sunroom enjoying the sight of the tree and the presents beneath it. My cousins came downstairs with the angry bird gifts they found in their stockings Santa had left in their room. When my aunt and uncle came downstairs, it was finally time to open presents. Michelle got an ipod, and Kevin got some very cool lego sets! My mom had sent me some presents too. I had told her all I wanted was Alaska stuff, so imagine my surprise when I tore off the wrapping paper to find a Kindle Fire! All in all a very successful Christmas morning, and what better way to end it then with a delicious breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, bagels, and more coffee!!
My aunt came up with the idea of going to Chinatown in Philadelphia for dim sum since I had never had it. She called a restaurant to see if they were open on Christmas, and they were, so we all jumped into the car and drove towards town. It was such an awesome experience! I love Chinese food, but I rarely eat out at Chinese restaurants, and even then I normally get food that I’ve already had. But my aunt is from China, and so every time I visit I always end up tasting new foods, and it’s always good! I just sat at the table, and let my aunt order (in Chinese) food she thought I should try. I had shrimp, pheasant, dumplings and Chinese vegetables, and chicken fingers (actual chicken feet, the only thing I didn’t love). I’ve been in Maine four months now, but I had my first lobster in Chinatown.
After I had eaten way more food than I should have, my aunt led the way through Chinatown to a bakery where we got pastries for later that night, and some for me to have on the drive home the next day. We also stopped at the store to buy boxes coffee teas and white coffees (some of the most wonderful drinks in the world!). Now on Christmas day in Philadelphia the traffic is almost nonexistent. We took advantage of that and made a detour downtown to some famous historical sites. We drove by the Ben Franklin museum, the Rocky statue, and town hall. I saw a beautiful view of Independence Hall at night, and got a glimpse of the Liberty Bell! I finished Christmas day, curled up on the couch with my grandma, eating the pastries from the bakery (all delicious) and watching the British version of The Office (good but not as good as the American one).
I woke up early the next day and had one last coffee conversation with my grandma. I then said my goodbyes and headed back to Maine in a car loaded down with presents, chocolates, pastries, fruit, and coffee teas! I had a good drive back, with the one huge exception of the Massachusetts Turnpike (I really hate driving in the state), and made it back home safe and sound. I’d had such a great weekend. It was a Christmas completely unlike any before, but it was a wonderful one, and more important I had shared it with family.
