The Different Christmas

Christmas was different this year. But different  doesn't have to be good or bad. Different can be just what it is:  different.

Covid played a large part in what made it different.  Traveling with two dogs and a cat is challenging enough without dealing with effects of a pandemic, and frankly, I didn't feel like dealing with the additional headache of Covid travel, so I stayed home.

This year I shopped different. No last minute, late night shopping for this girl, because the stores no longer offer late night shopping. I also did  very little online shopping--except for a few things I purchased earlier in the year. This year I became a kid again and  made most of my gifts at That Art Place (a local small business). By doing so, I stimulated my local economy, I supported a small business, and I thought about the people who would receive my handiwork--all as I de-stressed.  The de-stressing was very much needed and was not different.  The difference was rather than allowing the stress to continue to build, I took the time to destress.

I also shopped local artisans and shops. And I spent time chatting and getting to know the shopkeepers and artisans. Some shops I didn't even know existed prior to Covid.  Others I knew about but had never visited or had visited so long ago I had  forgotten about them.  Far too often I don't take the time to get to know people because I'm rushing off to my next stop  or errand. This year I made a conscious effort to shop different. 

Although I shopped small, I still shopped the box stores a little, but I tried to at least stay local. In the past, I would drive hours to go to a favorite box store if their demographics gave them a better selection of what I wanted. By shopping local, rather than online, I also avoided getting hit by most of the porch pirates. I say most because I still received a couple envelopes that were opened and slightly mangled. I'd like to think they got hung up in the processing machine or shoved in the box by an overworked postal worker, but I really think they were subjected to porch pirates looking for money or gift cards.

Christmas  itself was different because I missed seeing friends and family. Over the years, I've been blessed to be part of celebrations of several familes who are not blood related (except by the blood of Christ). The inclusion made the years I was unable to travel the 850 miles to Florida to be with my own family during holidays less sad. This year, the gathering was local and small (made even smaller just a day or so before due to a change of plans), but it was just as wonderful an inclusion comprised of different friends who are more like family than mere friends. 

We had a wonderful time exchanging gifts and playing games. I lost all the card games--I've almost reconciled myself to this losing streak--almost. But I slayed the trivia game--the old noggin' is full of useful trivia if nothing else. 

I even joined the gingerbread decorating activity this year.  The directions said, "read ALL the instructiins before you start."  I didn't.  I started decorating my gingerbread camper an hour-and-a-half before I was due to be at my friends house.  And I didn't watch the video that shared  assembly instructions and decorating tips. No surprise or difference there. I did skim a little, to try to determine the construction order. When I read "allow to dry for 2-3 hour," I laughed.  Ha!  I didn't plan for, or budget, 2-3 hours of drying time. So I made up my own order:  decorate the sides of the camper. Wrap the peices in press and seal on the plate. Take the unused icing to use for touch-ups and glue. The camper could dry during transet, dinner, games, gift exchange, and be assembled later. Although the sides were dry for the most part, I had a fear of smearing my work, and the camper seemed unstable, so I glued the top together qith icing and made a "teepee" camper.  

We ate our fill--and overfill--and still had TONS of food leftover for the rest of the week. Some things,  even in a year of different, like our collective proclivity of bringing more food, for one meal,  than we could possibly eat in a week, and my  procrastination and refusal to read instructions, remain unchanged. 

But the biggest constant in a year of different is this: no matter the crazinesss of the world around me, no matter the differences--both good and bad--I am definitely blessed.

I am blessed to have a roof over my head, food in my fridge, and clothes and shoes to wear. I am blessed with  coats, sweaters, and blankies to keep me warm. I am blessed  have a car to drive to my job with benefits that allows me to pay for my medical needs. I am blessed with a chaotic Zoo of pets that entertain me and show me unconditional love and companionship--even when I am at my most unlovable.  I am blessed with family and friends all over the world who check on me, love me, and encourage and support me. But most importantly, I am blessed because I have a Savior who left heaven, came to earth as a baby, lived a perfect life, and became my sacrifice when He died to free me from the bondage of sin, and allows me stand before God as if I were sinless. 

I am truely blessed. No matter how different this year has been. And while I try to remember to be joyful in all circumstances, I will not be sad to see the end of 2020 and the return of a normal Christmas in 2021.