It's the day after Christmas, Boxing Day for Canadians, and I thought I should take a moment to reflect on the first Christmas that Jon and I have spent alone together in our house in Des Moines. It felt somehow appropriate. We've realized, over the past year, that we have been so busy trying to maintain the traditions of our respective families every other year as we travel to visit one family or the other, that we've actually never created a single Christmas tradition of our own. But, that's going to change.So this year was, if nothing else, a chance for us to start to do that. We missed our families. I missed dinner on Christmas Eve with my family most. Somehow that means the most to me of almost all our family traditions. Jon says he missed his family, but no more than on any given day.
We've been so busy with the house and work we were a bit late to get into the festive spirit, with the exception of the Christmas parade I rode my bike in, and Christmas caroling last week with some friends, accompanied by an accordian. (Yes, winter will do that to you in Des Moines. The grande finale that night was a stop at Cooney's bar to sing Christmas in Kilarney and lift a glass to our Irish ancestors.)
So, we put up the tree last Sunday. I put lights on it Thursday. We finished moving furniture and stuff back into the house on Christmas Eve in the afternoon, and Jon found the box with the ornaments. I cleaned and decorated the house and baked. Jon made trips back and forth from the storage unit. We both got sore feet from up and down the basement stairs and standing in the kitchen.
After finding the box in the basement with my cookbooks and recipes, and the other with my bundt pan, I baked Grammy's sugar cookies and Mom's Christmas Coffeecake. It's the first time it has ever come out right for me - when I've tried in the past (every other year for ten or twelve years?) I've had a limited amount of time allotted, at altitude, working with other people's measuring utensils and ovens. I took a picture. (See? That's what it's supposed to look like!!) It just isn't Christmas to me without a bite or two of that cranberry almond flavor on Christmas morning. I also made some ice cream (a new tradition at our house).Jon made beans, green chiles with ground beef, and homemade tortillas for supper, in his family's tradition. Yum. We set a place for Molly, who should be here but isn't, yet. I can't wait to see her with beans, tomatoes and little pieces of gummed tortillas in her hair.
After supper we watched A Christmas Story (another new tradition), then decorated the tree (we might decide to save this until the late hours every Christmas Eve so its a surprise for Molly in the morning). I left a plate of cookies (round with tree cut outs, with raspberry jelly sandwiched in) by a Santa figurine on the side table in the new room.
At bedtime, I read Jon the Christmas stories from different Gospels - which he wasn't very familiar with. Then, we got a good night's sleep for what is likely to be the last Christmas...
Christmas morning we had eggs - Jon with chile and tortillas, me with cheddar cheese - and Coffeecake and oranges. We opened our stockings, took a break, then opened presents, sitting on cushions in the new room. We took time to really think about and appreciate each gift and the givers. We're both amazed at the thoughtful things people sent us this year. And so many wonderful things for Molly.
I made a turkey with stuffing, squash and potatoes and we ate around 4:00, again setting a place for Molly. As it got dark, we went for a walk around the neighborhood looking at people's lights and Christmas trees, lit up behind their livingroom windows. Then we went to see a movie, in Jon's family's tradition. (We saw Capote. Not the most uplifting movie to see on Christmas, but we were both glad to have seen it.)
Today, like yesterday, was a nice day to look back and think about what was important in Christmases past, box all that up in our hearts, and look forward to what the holiday will mean for us in our house with our family. I hope we'll find a balance that makes sense for Molly, and for us.
Happy Boxing Day.
C
