Early Christmas Gift

If you asked my friends to describe me in one word, that word would probably be inpatient. So you should not be surprised when I tell you we celebrate Christmas early in our house. Or, at least we used to. This year we're celebrating Christmas on Christmas, I think.

Confused? Don't be. Here's the back story. Three years ago the husband (who wasn't actually my husband then) and I were still living with roommates. My best friend and her boyfriend, actually. We got a massive blizzard right before Christmas. We were all stuck in the house and going stir crazy. I begged and begged and begged the (now) husband to give me my Christmas present early. When the weather finally broke (5 days before Christmas), my best friend and her boyfriend headed to his family's to exchange gifts. The husband went upstairs to his secret hiding place, got my present, came back downstairs, stood in front of me and proposed. I, of course, happily accepted and have been insisting we celebrate Christmas on the 20th every year since.

The real reason I like celebrating Christmas early with him is because we always travel South for Christmas, so we never wake up in our own beds in our own home for Christmas. Christmas is special to me, he is special to me, ergo I want a special moment with him at Christmas. But surrounded by 35 of my closest family members on Christmas eve and our immediate family on Christmas Day, I don't get that special moment. Don't get me wrong, I love celebrating with our family. It's just something about soaking up Christmas alone with him, in front of a lit Christmas tree, that gives me the warm and fuzzies.

Now to the real point of the this point--yes, I know I've been rambling for three paragraphs now. We are celebrating Christmas in St. Mary's again this year but we're not taking all of the Peanut's gifts down. It's too much to lug back and forth, especially considering she's going to get a ton of gifts (it is her first Christmas, after all) and we'll have hers and ours to bring back up. So the bouncer that we bought her for Christmas is staying put in Baltimore. I've been relentless about my husband putting it together so she has a chance to play with it before we head South. FINALLY, He put it together last night.

 Non-plussed? You betcha. Oh well, there's always next year :)  

Ps. The real spirit of Christmas is not lost with us. Next year we're going to do Advent with her so she too understands Christmas is not just some obligatory gift giving holiday.