I haven't seen my Christmas decorations in two years. After Chile died I boxed everything up hastily, knowing that the next time I saw them they would have new meaning and everything would be different. I can't tell you how true those words turned out to be - although if you've been following along here I guess you already know.
Last year, being in the middle of moving, I transported the holiday boxes straight to the condo without so much as opening them. At this time last year I was in escrow, on my way back from #Laura's wedding in Cabo, packing and purging the apartment I'd been in for 10 years, trying to survive the holidays, and preparing to move. Make no mistake, it was the most mentally and physically grueling experience of my life, and I am so eternally grateful to everyone who showed up to help me through it - there were a lot of you. It was so taxing on my body that I wasn't surprised I got super sick the day after Christmas and felt like a truck ran over me the day the movers came. I never want to go back there.
This year has been a [insert your own descriptive analogical noun here]. I haven't hung out with my friends, put my skates on, or eaten at a restaurant in over eight months. But you know that isn't special to me. In fact, I just had Thanksgiving dinner with my family on Zoom after meeting at the cemetery for a grand food swap, my #grandma not included. I know none of us ever thought we'd be here, and I'd be lying if I said I thought we'd be here even at the end of March when I thought life was only going to be upside down for a few weeks. But you know what? I'm so proud of how we've adapted. I still have Zoom dinners with my family every Saturday and FaceTime with my friends every week. I coordinate my masks with my outfit on the few occasions I go out to run errands, and I'm so impressed that even for Thanksgiving my family and so many of my friends made the sacrifice, got creative, and used our limited resources to celebrate - safely but memorably. That's the odd thing about this year. As hurried as everyone is to forget it, I will admit that all the other years kind of blur together - Thanksgivings, birthdays, season openers, holiday shows - but not this year. I will always remember Zoom Thanksgiving 2020, and I am already anticipating that Christmas will be along the same lines. Despite all the things I'm ready to move on from in this year, I will always remember the way I/we made the most out of challenging times and turned what could have been lonely holidays into events we will never forget.
The day after Thanksgiving I opened the boxes with my holiday decor. I bought a few new things and some fresh items like a wreath for the door, poinsettias, and garland for the mantle, and I decorated my condo. I was so excited to put Christmas into my new place that I did it earlier than I normally would have. I've been so excited to decorate the mantle because I never had one before. I didn't get a tree this year because there's nobody to help me with it and I'm obviously not having any parties, but right now, surrounded by my handiwork, Christmas lights and with the smell of fresh balsam, I can honestly say I feel so much joy. I'm so happy I took the time to decorate the mantle for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and now for Christmas. Especially this year, I feel like we can all use a little extra cheer, and I am looking forward to enjoying this for the next month. With the fireplace and all the holiday movies on Hallmark Channel, I'll definitely be home for Christmas.
