Sometimes lists are useful organizational tools.
- We experienced our first "married" Christmas. Everyone thought it was a big deal and kept pointing it out to me. "Hey, this is your first Christmas together-- married!" Um, yep. It didn't feel like a big deal to us, mostly because we spent last Christmas together in Idaho with my family while we were dating, but nobody counts that. Even this last week someone brought it up again. "How was Christmas?? It was your first together, right??" Why does it seem important to be married for Christmas? Because we get a day off work? We get a day off for Martin Luther King Day too, but nobody is getting sentimental over that. Is it because of the content? Nobody gets in a lather over being married during Easter, but that day was just as important in Jesus' life. Is it because Mormon stereotypes infer a courtship so short that a couple is hitched before sharing the holiday, so it's a sort of benchmark? More likely. For the record, I count last Christmas, and that's the only opinion that really matters. It was a pretty big deal to me, sharing it with him. Kindly stop telling me it wasn't.
- The big deal this year for me was actually spending Christmas in Denver, which ironically nobody thought was interesting or significant. It was my first Christmas away from home, that is "Idahome", but it was fine. I spent every Christmas in Idaho while I was single on purpose since I figured I may never spend it there ever again once I had a family of my own. I am satisfied with my effort and I was prepared to spend it somewhere else this year. Interesting thing is if we had chosen to spend Christmas with one side of the family or the other, we still wouldn't have ended up at either family's home. They all spent Christmas somewhere else too.
- It was very nice celebrating with just the two of us. Opening presents didn't take nearly as long. We ate an entire pan of cinnamon rolls by ourselves (not all at once... we spread it over 24 hours). Later in the day we made a visit to my brother's family who live nearby, and then we enjoyed Christmas dinner with people from church who had invited us over. We got their daughter addicted to this game (go on, you know you want to try it) and now they probably won't ever invite us over again.
- The weekend before the holiday, my in-laws stayed with us a few days while en route to spend Christmas Day with a daughter in Kansas, and stopped again one night afterward on their way home. We all get along just dandy so good times and good food were had by all. I am proud to announce my batch of well-beloved Hopkins sticky buns were lauded as worthy representations of the favorite family tradition. And Husband and I planned and executed a bang-up pre-Christmas family dinner that Saturday evening. His aunt and uncle from Greely came down for it and everything turned out delicious.
- I should put up some pictures. Maybe soon.
