I love being in a relationship with such variety. I love being exposed to Aya’s Japanese culture, and she loves being exposed to my American culture with my family’s Polish heritage. We try to raise Ellie, and now Chloe, with a nice mix of both. Blending holiday traditions between two different families is difficult enough, but it can be even more challenging when you’re blending traditions from two different countries with very different cultures.
I’ve never felt the desire to get that classic shot of Ellie sitting on Santa’s lap every year. You know the photo. The one where Ellie would be in her fancy holiday dress, bows in hair, and I’d be hoping for that adorable perfect moment when she’s smiling in wonderment but most likely be shrieking in terror. Yes, that photo. I’m not against it, it’s just never been my thing. Aya never had this tradition as a child, and I really don’t remember liking it too much either. I know I went a few times, but the experience wasn’t lasting enough to remember it too clearly. So it wasn’t something important for me to do it with Ellie.
With budgets being tight and expenses being high, sometimes you have to get creative with gift giving. I always have a hard time sticking to a budget, but this year I was determined to not go over. And because of that, I had a really hard time deciding on what to get my family for Christmas, especially my brother. After roaming around the mall for a total of 5 hours on two separate trips and coming home empty handed (except for the Mrs. Fields cookies I bought for myself), I realized that sometimes the best gifts aren’t purchased. I decided I would make him a homemade gift. It would literally be the most thoughtful gift ever. The Thought Transfer Helmet!
My Christmas morning started at 3am when I went to bed and woke up at the same time.
To say I didn’t have any expectations this year, whether intentional or subconscious, I’d be lying. It’s just what I do. I build images in my head. Last year for Christmas, Ellie was sick. And in addition to being sick, she was barely a year old and didn’t quite get the whole Christmas thing at all. But this year, she knew(okay, I trained her to know) what a snowman was, could point Santa out on the Christmas tree, and she was excited at the site of seeing wrapped presents. So even though I knew she wouldn’t be tearing down the stairs in the morning with super excitement quite yet, I still had a certain image in mind of what this Christmas would be like. But just as life with a toddler is, not many things go as expected.
Wishing everyone a great holiday! Cheers to good health, good food, good company, family and friends.
Merry Christmas!
