Christmas in Europe

"Christmas time is here, happiness and cheer. Fun for all that children call, their favorite time of the year," Boy, I love that song! Nothing quite says Christmas like Charlie Brown. Up until now, I've known what to expect from Christmas: family, chex mix, decorating the tree, and Charlie Brown on tv. This year it will be a little different. I'm in a strange city with different customs and no family around.

At home, my mom and I always decorate the "girl tree" (the tree we don't let the men in the family touch because they don't have our decorating skills). This year I borrowed a Christmas tree from a friend and decorated it myself. It's not quite as elegant as our beautiful burgandy and gold draped Christmas miracle. Mine is sparsely spotted with bright green and pink ornaments, Christmas lights that blink and play off-key Christmas songs (well, they have the ability to blink and play music), and is topped with a New Orleans Saints helmet (Who Dat!). It's also empty underneath. I'm not too upset about there being no presents underneath, I don't need anything, but I've always loved arranging and rearranging our presents under the tree at home.

This year, I won't be sitting at home in my pajamas opening presents so early baby Jesus would disapprove. This year I will be joining my family via webcam to watch my family open presents and see my brother's first Christmas. I guess I'll wear pajamas, although my neighbors might wonder why I'm in my pj's at 4 in the afternoon! It will be different, but I know I'm still connected with my family by a force stronger than geography: love (insert giant "awww" here). I am blessed to know more love from my family than most people know in a lifetime.

Even though I'm not at home this year, I'm going to try to save a little bit of Christmas tradition. I'm going to make my chex mix (which has been shipped piece by piece by loving family members), and settle down in front of the computer to watch Charlie Brown on youtube. Hopefully, this change of scenery and tradition will allow me to focus on the true meaning of this holiday season. If you're a little unsure of what that reason is, Linus can tell you!

(my Charlie Brown inspired Christmas tree)

I've Got Plenty to be Thankful For...

Do you know that movie, "Holiday Inn?" It's one of my favorites of all time. I get so caught up in feeling sorry for Bing Crosby's character, Jim Hardy, as he loses his girl (not once, but twice!) to his best friend Ted Hanover (played by the one and only Fred Astaire). One of the best scenes in the movie (in my opinion) comes after Jim has lost the girl and shut down Holiday Inn. He's moping around on Thanksgiving thinking about the things he had lost. He's listening to one of his own songs, "I've Got Plenty to be Thankful For" that lists his many blessings, and yet he is looking at all the negatives. It's only after Mamie (the spunky housekeeper "Is yo name Mamie?") talks some sense into Jim that he gets back into the right mindset.
That's how I was this Thanksgiving. I have so many things to be thankful for: the best family ever (sorry, it's true!), a great job, the amazing opportunity to live in one of the most beautiful places on earth, and above all, forgiveness and grace! And yet, amid all of my blessings, I found myself focusing on the negatives: missing my brother's first Thanksgiving, not having my Thanksgiving food, things to that extent. These things are big deals, but in the grand scheme of things, the blessings still greatly outweigh the negatives! It was only through a word from my mom that I realized how bad my attitude was. In an e-mail my mom told me that she would rather have an empty chair at home than have a disobedient daughter. Isn't that great? I guess sometimes you just need a swift kick in the pants from Mamie to get back on track. Thanks mom for being my Mamie!