What is Christmas to me?

What is Christmas to me? As I look back, I can clearly see how Christmas has changed through the many cycles of my life. In my youth Christmas was very predictable. Just like many people, I grew up with long standing traditions. Then, before I knew it, I was grown and out of the nest. From that point on I had Christmas traditions that changed with the cycles of my life.

My choice to have a career in the Navy led to many Christmas seasons spent away from home. Looking back from this point in my life, I could have spent more time with my parents but for whatever reason I chose not to make the extra effort to get home. Had I been a bit more mature in my decisions, this would have never happened. Now it is an issue that I deeply regret.

I was fortunate to spend Christmas with Debi and the kids for 28 years. Fortunately I was only away from them on Christmas 2 times. We as a family had the good fortune of celebrating the holidays in many places. We adapted our traditions to the place we were at the time. One of the most memorable was celebrated in a hotel on Guam. A decorated Palm tree and a promise of toys in a month to the kids since all the toys on the island were gone made it unique.

This will be Christmas #3 with Meg. The blend of her Scottish/Canadian traditions with mine makes for a great holiday.

Over the years I always put a priority on the gift giving aspect of Christmas. Many years were spent maxing out credit cards to make Christmas as extravagant as possible. Now that concept appears to be such a waste. I’ve learned the greatest gift of the season is spending time with the ones you love.

My priority now is the logistics of spending the holiday in two countries with my ever growing family. Merry Christmas!