Christmas 2012 was one to cherish!

Well here we are and January is already over. Wow, it is hard to believe that just over a month ago we had Christmas, then New Years and now Ground hog's day is just around the corner. Time is moving quickly with Family day ,our brand new statutory holiday, arriving soon with Valentine's day just a step beyond it. I think the February will go by quickly too.

Our 2012 tree

But while we are contemplating the days passing us by quickly I thought I would take a moment or three and reminisce about my Christmas 2012.
I originally thought that it would be like many of my past Christmases in recent years; a nice relaxed enjoyable time that left me feeling good. Little did I know or even realize that this would be one of the best in recent history. This Christmas ended up being one that evoked memories of my childhood when I had some of the best times during the winter holidays that I can ever recall.

It started with all the usually plans and activities. We dug out of storage all of our decorations, assembled the tree and made the usual preparations for the family visits that happen every year. As always I look forward to the time when my uncle brings my grandmother to visit. Due to the geographic distance, work schedules and the expense of travel I do not see my grandmother as often as I would wish. Most every Christmas my uncle travels to Victoria to see his daughter & grandchild, his two nephews and brings his mother along so she can visit with her grandchildren and great grandchild.

For those of you who know the geography of British Columbia you will appreciate the effort my uncle makes to help each Christmas become one that involves family. My uncle Pat lives in Kamloops BC which is pretty much in the central part of southern BC. He travels East from Kamloops to Nakusp BC to gather up my grandmother, returns to Kamloops to pick up my aunt and the three of them travel all the way West to Victoria to see the grand kids. My uncle usually does this twice a year (Summer and Winter) for the benefit of all of us. When he does that it is like a birthday present and christmas present for me. I can honestly say the I appreciate my uncle for who he is and what he does. Family togetherness is as important to him as it is to me.

So let me get back to my story here. Things were shaping up to be the usual type of Christmas. My family was coming to town and my partner Dan's family was coming to town as well. The usual. What made 2012 reminiscent of my childhood years were two moments which evoked such wonderful feelings that I still smile when I think of them over a month later. One moment involved my family and another involved Dan's family.

The moment that involved my family was at the end of a particular evening visit. My uncle and I had made plans for him, Betty (aunt) and my grandmother to come over to our place for a visit, hang out, watch a movie and just enjoy our time together. We had a general plan for the evening and pretty much just went with the flow of things. We decided almost last minute to go out for dinner then come back to the house to hang out. Dinner was tasty and the movie we rented to watch at home was a good one. At home I spent the time watching the movie sitting beside my grandmother arm in arm with her enjoying every moment I had. As much as I love all of my family there is just something special about a grandmother that makes you want to cherish them even more. At the end of the evening when they were leaving it was a comment that my grandmother said that made my night something worth remembering for a long time. My grandmother thanked me for the invite and for making her time so enjoyable.  It was her comment "I felt very comfortable and welcomed here at your place tonight." That simple comment was so heartfelt that it made my heart burst with pride and love for my grandmother. I felt pride because they liked the home I had with my partner and by being myself I had shown my family that they are always welcome at my place. I felt the love because my grandmother's comment showed her love and appreciation for me and my partner and the home we had created together that was open to those we cared about. I am an emotional sap at times so moments like this mean the world to me.  It is moments of this nature that help to evoke all the best of the holidays feelings we all look forward to each year.

The second moment involved a whole day spent with Dan's family when they came to visit us. One of our plans for the holidays was to spend a day with Dan's sister Monica & her husband Julian, his niece Bella, his brother Jim with Ashley (Jim's girlfriend). They all arrived at our place on the 27th for a day of traditional family time -  presents and a big dinner. Monica, Julian and Bella spent the previous night at our place so we could all sleep in and have a leisurely morning together. Once Jim and Ashley arrived we spent some time opening our presents with Bella playing the Christmas Elf handing out the gifts. Afterwards as everyone relaxed and played with their new toys I prepared our dinner. Ashley had provided a beautiful Turkey. The fixings to go with it were provided by Dan and I. Being someone who loves to cook I took it upon myself to prep our big dinner. I did accept some minor help here and there but when it comes to cooking I don't like a lot of people in the kitchen with me. The turkey turned out perfectly and the dinner spread was greatly appreciated by all of us. It was one of the best Christmas dinners I believe I have ever made. The overall time spent with Dan's family opening gifts, having dinner together and just enjoying our time with one another made it a Christmas that evoked many of my cherished childhood memories.

By being ourselves, having a good time and just making the most of what we have turned Christmas 2012 into one that I will cherish the memory of for some time. I look forward to future Christmases with family with the hope of creating and evoking wonderful memories.