EXTRA... EXTRA... READ ALL ABOUT IT!
IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE!!! (yeah I'm freaking pumped)
I am writing to you from somewhat of a weird spot. For one, it's like midnight Christmas Eve, which means I am writing late at night, which means I am not writing to you in the wee hours of the morning.
Which if you have been reading any of the previous blogs or you know anything about me, it is completely out of character for me to be up this late doing anything! But if you do have the pleasure of catching me up this late, I may look something of the sort:
See what claymation does to me!?!?
But.......
since it's technically now the wee hours of Christmas Eve morning, I am now morphing back to my early bird self faster than your average mighty morphing power ranger (a big part of our manhood to us 90's boys...I am partial to the white ranger).
So don't fret... my fingers have just about returned to normal size enough to bless you with a little Holiday abominabal wisdom.
I have found that most everyone that I know has always thought of finding... ya know... "The One" to spend the rest of their lives with.
Let me shine a light on something that you may not have thought about when it comes to finding your treasure.
There will be a time when you will NOT get to spend Christmas with the family that you grew up with.
That's right friends, this is my first Christmas away from the home that I grew up in and have had Christmas in for the last 22 years of my life. And let me just tell you, it has not been easy, to say the least, to have 22 years of tradition, familiarity, and comfort flipped upside down. If I am being honest, at times, I have even found it hard to be in the Christmas spirit in what would seem to be an alternate universe.
That means no annual Diven fish fry, no sitting by the fire, no watching Christmas vacation
17 jillion times, and possibly worst of all, no traditional Christmas Eve chicken and dumpling dinner at Nana's house.
Every year after the Northcliffe Christmas candlelight service, we go over to my Nana's house to eat her world famous chicken and dumplings. This may not sound like a big deal to you, but if you tried those things, you would understand! Now that stuff really brings you to an alternate universe!
Not only that, but other circumstances that I do not care to elaborate on, have not allowed my Nana to be with her family this Christmas season. This honestly kills me because I know how much she loves being with family on Christmas. Nana, I love you and miss you terribly. Get well, come back to Florida, and win some more golf tournaments would ya!?!?
Kayla and I had actually made arrangements to go and meet up with my Nana in Atlanta on Christmas but I was informed today that my grandfather is sick with the flu so they won't be able to meet (Don't Adam and Eve suck!)
As devastating as this was I was dealing with it ok, that is until this emotional roller coaster took one of those 200 foot 90 degree drops. You know the ones where you are totally just free falling into what you are sure is an unavoidable death.
Ok... so that could be a touch dramatic (hey, I'm a writer ;) After all, this story has a happy ending. Turns out that my wonderful wife and my squawking bird for a mother-in-law (she's sweet, again see the previous blog post) had been cooking me chicken and dumplings all morning to bring some of my Christmas tradition to Prattville, Alabama and make me feel right at home! I cried.
In came the tears, the water works, the balling, the weeping... whatever you wanna call it. This whole thing was a perfect recipe for me to just lose it over the newfound knowledge that I would be consuming small bread pieces and poultry this Christmas season. I would never admit that these dumplings were as good as my Nana's, but they were pretty darn good. Don't worry Nana, yours will be my favorite till the day I die!
All in all, I have had a lovely Christmas holiday. It has been quite different, but quite good. What I have learned, and I think you should know is that traditions that you have had your whole life will change when you get married. But what is most important is that you are with "the one" you love on Christmas and every other day for that matter. It is now time to create new traditions, and I know just the one to make them with.
Merry Christmas and to all a good night. God bless us, every one.
- JD
PS. If you like our posts, please comment and share! We would love to hear about your family/newlywed traditions.
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