all is calm, all is bright

Well, I made it. Christmas has officially been survived by me. Adam and I shared one of the most special christmas eves ever. I had been all back-and-forth on what I wanted to do for the holiday, because holidays have been difficult for me over the past couple years. We finally decided to spend christmas eve and christmas morning together and then head to our respective families on christmas afternoon.

I was wanting to make things feel a little more traditional, so we searched online and found a nice, traditional-seeming church to attend a candlelight christmas eve service. We drove out into the country to find the church, parked, walked in the door and were welcomed and handed candles. But as we entered the sanctuary, the large overhead screen displaying an animated “welcome” message and the loud, upbeat piano/brass ensemble were the complete opposite of what I had been hoping for. This did not feel peaceful or moving or traditional. I sat there for about ten minutes, trying to decide if this could fulfill my need for a quiet, simple christmas activity. I decided it could not, and Adam, who was being nothing but supportive, got up with me and we left, taking with us the candles they'd handed us at the door. That's right. We stole candles from a church on christmas eve, and skipped the church service.

Once we were in the car, we lit the candles and laughed about the whole scenario. Another car even honked at us as we waved the candles while driving down the road. Before going home, we stopped at a gas station convenience store and bought ice cream to enjoy with the bottle of champagne that was waiting for us.

The night did, in the end, turn out to be wonderfully simple, not to mention spontaneous and fun.

I made it through the next day's family festivities largely unscathed. And then Adam and I got to go skiing with my sister and my dad and his girlfriend. It was only the second time I'd gone skiing, and it was a blast.

Now, I sit here, winding down after all the gatherings and all the visiting. I can't say we formed any lasting or meaningful christmas traditions (at least I hope not to make a tradition out of stealing from churches), but I made it through with plenty of good memories. That's good enough for me. Hope your holidays gave you good memories too, and maybe even some cheer.