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Another Wednesday, and another post from Rachel, you can find all her musings under "Rachel writes" in the tag cloud.Today's topic is exceptionally current and a debate all couples go through each and every year...
I started a new job this week so my head has been a little pre-occupied with learning lots of new names and panicking about how I'm ever going to remember everything. So, in my quest to find something vaguely interesting to write about this week I took to Twitter - you can follow me @rachelbeasley if you so wish - and I was asked to write about Christmas. Last week I wrote a very festive post about my favorite festive films (who doesn't love a bit of alliteration on a Wednesday) so I wanted to discuss something a little more traditional this time round and something a little bit more to do with those things we call life and relationships.
Like many people, Christmas has always been a very family oriented time in my world. It was pretty much the same every year and I could set my watch by it. I think Christmas is the only time when I actually quite liked routine and predictability, right down to the traditional Christmas Eve trek round the shops with Dad to buy Mum's present.
The thing I struggle with now though, is trying to incorporate someone else's memories and Christmas traditions. D and I were both very used to family Christmasses, our Mum's cooking and how the day should be spent. In some ways they're very similar, but each family have their own little festive quirks where, quite simply, it just doesn't feel like Christmas without them.
This will be our 5th Christmas. The first one we spent separately and since then have tried to come up with a rota that says we'd spend one year with my family and one year with his. Although real life doesn't always fit nicely with your well meant plans, does it? Taking into account our own work commitments, our family diaries and also a 10-hour round trip home to my parents, it's not looking likely I'll get home for Christmas this year. And well, it makes me sad. In fact, I've only just let myself believe this because I've putting off making the decision for months believing I could still make it home.
I had it all planned out in my head, you see. I wanted this Christmas to be spent with my family, our traditions and reliving my childhood memories because next year I'll be married...a grown up, if you will, and I think part of me believes some of the magic of a family Christmas will be lost a little bit. Then we were going to have next Christmas - our first married Christmas - by ourselves to start making new traditions and looking ahead to the next stage of our lives.
Perhaps I'm putting too much emphasis on what is essentially one day. Perhaps spending Christmas Day in my pajamas watching 'Robbie The Reindeer' will always be special to me and won't be just childhood memories?
So I want to know how you will be spending Christmas this year. Do you merge your old family traditions together in order to create the perfect combo for Christmas Day? Or should we just wipe the slate clean and start making brand new ones?
After all, part of the joy of Christmas is being sick of the sight of each other by the end of Boxing Day and looking forward to your own bed...isn't it?
Where will you spend Christmas? Have you already started your own traditions?
