Christmas Is In The Air...

This is our third Christmas here, in Georgia, and although we enjoy our holidays, they don't always feel quite right. Part of that is the lack of family get togethers. The other part is the weather.

Scott and I are accustomed to two sorts of family gatherings. One is big, one bigger. What I mean by bigger is "so many people that the family function can no longer be held in someone's living room." On two sides of our family local fire halls are reserved for a day and aunts, uncles, and cousins file in to sit in folding chairs and enjoy feasts of dish-to-pass favorites. Gifts are exchanged and stories shared. Young couples introduce new babies. Younger family members bashfully introduce new girlfriends or boyfriends. It's how we host a family get together!

The other sides of our family still crowd into an Aunt's or Grandma's living room. The same traditions take place...food, fun, family. Cards are pulled out and serious games of Euchre or Shoot the Moon ensue. Football, along with cheers and disappointment, provides background noise on the television. That's a family get together too!

And whichever I'm part of, it feels like home, like the holidays. And this year, we're not part of either...big or small. We're sticking close to our home, in Georgia, and enjoying our little branch of the family tree. The kids are excited. Scott and I are too, and we're hoping Santa brings a buyer for our house. Aside from that nagging concern in the back of our brains, we're happy to have three beautiful, happy, and healthy kids who can't wait to scatter reindeer food on the lawn and chose the perfect cookies for Santa himself.

And there's some good news regarding the reindeer food...they won't have to dig in the snow for it! Last week I wore shorts. Today I pulled weeds. Tomorrow we're going on a family bike ride. It feels nothing like Christmas to a couple of Yankees who keep hearing stories about all the snow that's fallen back home in New York! But we'll manage. I try to enjoy the holidays sans snow because I know there will come a time when I'll be longing for shorts in December.

For now, though, extended family and snow are in our hearts and our thoughts...and Christmas is in the air.