Christmas sorted

I am finally getting some clarity as to our Christmas arrangements. Levi phoned last night and informed me he will call in on his way back from Rosie’s parents on Boxing Day. I had thought that maybe we would have a day or two together before Christmas but this will work just as well.

Genevieve and Willow will come and stay the night on Christmas Eve, leaving Michael to hopefully travel out on Christmas Day. He has been so busy building a tiny home that we have hardly seen him. It is difficult getting tradespeople this time of the year so he has been racing to fit in with the electrician and plumber. I am hoping he will take Christmas Day off.

That just leaves my other two, Renee and Jason who will remain in the Gold Coast. I always miss those not present but as the kids get older, travel to other countries, and have their own partners, Christmas is a time that gets shared. Sometimes we will have more of them than others and rarely will we have them all together. Jason travelled home last year, but not Renee, for example.

But what we must remember is that Christmas is just a day, one day of the year. There is always so much emphasis and pressure on that one single day. One can be on their own for a whole year and be fine, but be alone on that day and one feels lonely – at least I do. Come Boxing Day and everything is fine again.

Christmas is also a time of stress for many families, both socially and financially. I remember the stats for domestic abuse, for example, rising dramatically in and around Christmas and the need for the budgeting services in the aftermath of that one day. We all want to give our children gifts and have nice food but sometimes in our quest for such things, we overdo it. Everything has risen so much lately that this year will be particularly difficult for many people.

If we went back to the original meaning of Christmas, the celebrating of the birth of Jesus, I think things would be much simpler but the day has become so commercialised. I for one, stopped going to church on Christmas day when I left home as a 17-year-old. To me the day is about family, food and presents for others – a day to be shared.

I wrote in an earlier blog that I was having trouble deciding what to buy Stephen. I now have that sorted but will not share here in case he reads this blog, not that he ever does. After Christmas I will divulge, but the present is one that I felt very lucky to have found.

Until then, there is a menu to plan and more food to buy. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the ham.