Reminiscing

There's something about Christmastime that makes one a bit nostalgic. And I love to be nostalgic. As the "Days to Christmas" clock winds down - and rather quickly I might add - I am reminded of many Christmas's past.

20 years ago...I was 4, and I'm sure soaking in every bit of Christmas. That might have been the year we got a brand new toy kitchen - complete with a "working" coffee maker (okay, so it just "made" water, but I loved it). Or it might have been the year we got some really cool sweat bands (it was 1988 after all...), and Kelsey & I proceeded to do laps around the house as we "worked out" - with cookies in hand, of course. Whatever the gifts, I do know that I was with my whole family in our cozy home in Maysville, celebrating the story spelled out in the nativity scene we had setting on top of the television. And Kelsey put baby Jesus on the roof.

10 years ago...I was 14 and a freshman in high school. By this time I had grown to love many of our family traditions - celebrating Mom's birthday on Christmas Eve, then going to church for the candle-light service. Mom was usually disappointed at the end because we hadn't sang Silent Night - and you're just supposed to sing Silent Night on Christmas Eve at the candle-light service, okay? Then we'd head over to some friends to celebrate Mom & Christmas Eve - and I was possibly dating one of the "friends" that came over (that should say probably...or just take that word out...). Kelsey & I had a long-standing tradition by this point of sleeping together on Christmas Eve so we'd be sure to wake each other up bright and early to gather around the tree, read the Christmas story together from Dad's KJV Bible, and then share the morning together opening gifts, eating Mom's famous Christmas brunch, and enjoying whatever gifts we received that year.

5 years ago...I was 19 and a sophomore in college. By this time I had met a guy named Dan, but I'm quite sure he didn't know my name yet :-) I spent another lovely Christmas at home with my family, this time in our new home out in the country (we'd lived there for a few years already). Still soaking in the traditions, including an all-day Christmas at Grandpa & Grandma's with the best food in the world and my dear cousins & aunts & uncles gathered together for a short time.

3 years ago...I was 21 and engaged to the man of my dreams. We were less than 3 months away from our wedding and spent our last Christmas apart - he in California, and I in Missouri. It would be the last Christmas with just the 4 of us, Mom, Dad, Kelsey & me. I distinctly remember sitting around the breakfast table that morning after opening our gifts and realizing that this would never be quite the same again.

2 years ago...I spent my first Christmas away from home with Dan's family out in California. While there were certainly moments of homesickness, it was also a sweet time as I spent my first Christmas with my husband and was able to experience new traditions as I stepped into the Johnston family. My mother-in-law was especially gracious as she made extra efforts to incorporate some of my traditions into their Christmas as well - including Christmas brunch and cereal potatoes. I also experienced my first WARM Christmas, decorated palm trees, and laying out at the beach on Christmas Eve...certainly not all bad :-)

1 year ago...Dan & I traveled home to Missouri and were thrilled to see lots and lots of snow. It was Dan's first Christmas away from home and his first time to experience the Carroll family traditions - which include a slightly (translate: incredibly) slower pace than Johnstons are accustomed to. We revelled in the rest, drinking lots of coffee while chatting away with Mom & Dad and watching the peaceful snow. Kelsey's fiance joined us as well, and for the first time, we really had the "whole" family together.

And this year we are just a few days away from hopping on a plane to head to sunny California once again. I'll miss my family dearly, but I'll learn more about being a Johnston as I spend some much needed time with Dan's family. I'm so thankful for the wonderful man I am able to call my husband, and though Christmas will never be quite the same as it used to be, I am thankful that I'm always able to bring "home" with me as Dan & I spend Christmas together.

There is one thing, though, that never changes - Christmas itself is ALWAYS about God wrapping himself in swaddling clothes in the tiny form of baby Jesus. I am so thankful that some things never change.

Note: Mom or Dad, if you have any pictures from the earlier years, feel free to send them :-)