Christmas Memories

I told my friend Tricia I would join in her great idea of posting 12 Christmas memories. I'm a little slower getting started, but it's better late than never right?!

I've been thinking of what I would put for 12 Christmas memories...and the first memory that comes to mind was last Christmas. Maybe it's because I have a terrible memory and this was the easiest to remember, or maybe it's because it really was memorable. Either way...here's my memory from last year's Christmas, and man it was kind of a crazy one.

My youngest sister Shancy decided to get married on Dec. 22nd. Shayne and I had just moved down here to Soldotna about 2 months earlier, so Shayne was low man on the totem pole at work. This meant he had to work Christmas Eve, and Christmas. So...Shayne told me to go to her wedding and stay and spend Christmas with my family. I went and Shancy's wedding was wonderful, and it was really nice to see a lot of my extended family as well at her reception.

I was also able to drive to Shayne's parents and spend a day with them and have a small Christmas party. Looking back on it now, I wish I had spent another day with them. They are so wonderful. I could not have chosen better in-laws.

Christmas Eve was on a Sunday last year, so I was also able to bring my flute and accompany the ward choir that my mom directs for their Christmas program...which was a lot of fun. Then, the whole family went to my Grandma Price's for dinner and the Christmas party. I was again able to see a lot of my cousins that I hadn't seen in over a year...or more. It was so much fun. But...the best part was going back home and having our own little Christmas party back at my parents house.

In order to save some money I actually ended up flying back to Alaska on Christmas day. So, we decided to have our big family get together on Christmas Eve. We all sat around and opened presents, and had a really good time. I loved watching all my nephews open their presents and to see how excited they all were about Christmas. In fact the pictures are of Maestin and Addler in their new chaps...they were in love! Ruxton was so excited about his new hat and boots, and Gavin loved his rope. They truly are a bunch of little cowboys.

Anyway...I had a great time with my family. I hadn't spent a Christmas with them in about 3 years, because of being in Alaska with Shayne. But...the most memorable thing about that Christmas, was how much I missed Shayne. I came to realize how important our own personal family is. My extended family is wonderful. I'm very close to my parents and siblings, and I love Shayne's family as much as I love my own. However, even though I was surrounded by my brothers, sisters, nephews, and parents...the person I would have wanted to be there the most wasn't. I remember trying not to cry as I sat there and watched all my family there with their spouses and their own families, and not being there with my own.

I actually didn't spend any time at all with any of my family on Christmas day. I drove by myself to Boise to catch my flight back to Anchorage, and spent the rest of the day either on a plane or sitting in an airport. Shayne and I ended up talking on the phone as I drove the 4-5 hours to Boise. I was supposed to have a long lay over in Seattle, but after checking to see if there was an earlier flight, the lady doing the scheduling booked me for a flight 7 hours earlier and in first class...which I had never flown before. I still didn't get into Anchorage until later that night, so didn't start driving to Soldotna until the next morning. Shayne ended up waking me up the next morning to make sure I was up so I could start driving sooner. He wanted to see me as soon as possible. It was so nice to hear him miss me as much as I missed him.

When I got home and laid down next to him...because he had worked the night before and had been sleeping...I realized how much I loved him, and how much I had missed my home and my family, even if my family is just the two of us. I hope I don't ever forget the way I felt in that moment. That's why last year's Christmas was such a memorable one for me.

As I read back over what I wrote, I wish I could convey better what those five days in Idaho were like for me. And more importantly, what coming home to Shayne was like for us.