I love Christmas...I love everything about it...I love the lights, the decorations, the shopping (I even don't mind the lines), baking Christmas cookies, going to church and watching the decorations for the Christmas services gradually appear throughout the month of December, the chill in the air, (even in Southern California), the wider smiles on people's faces because they can't deny the infectious holiday spirit...I pretty much love it all!
But I have to say my first Christmas as a Mrs. brought some new elements to my holiday...splitting time between my family and my in-laws. Ugh! What a pain! My husband and I dated for over 6 years before we got married, and while we sometimes would stop by each other's family's houses for Christmas, we never actually spent the entire holidays together. His parents are divorced and we are fortunate that his dad and stepmother live only 30 minutes from my parents, so we can easily combine gatherings or see both families in one day. But his mother lives in Northern California and it is quite a drive which makes sharing the holidays very difficult!
Luckily, everything worked out pretty well, but we just ended up feeling exhausted. It's almost like you need a vacation after your vacation because you spend the whole time travelling and trying to squeeze as much quality time in with everyone you forget to rest and enjoy the time off work.
Still for me, there is that persistent Catholic guilt that makes me feel like we spend too much time with my family and not enough time with his...but when he doesn't put up a fight to make plans with his family, what can I do but acquiesce with the plans my two brothers have already made with my parents.
I just can't wait till we have our own kids and we are forced to stay and have Christmas with them in our home and everyone can come to us!
As you can see, I am quite behind in my post and one of my new year's resolutions is to write more about my newlywed experiences...
Happy New Year!
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