I must have been a very good girl this year, because it seems I have everything I ever wanted for Christmas.
I'm in France, spending Christmas here for the first time ever. I miss my family a lot, and I'm sure I'll shed a tear or two later today when I Skype with them while they open their presents, but the wonderment of knowing I'm spending Christmas in my new country? Very cool.
No one in my family, on both sides of the Atlantic, has been too sick to enjoy Christmas. I can remember Christmases past where someone had the flu or a stomach bug or an injury, and it really puts a damper on the celebrations. Some of us are having a few health challenges (I, for one, still need to get my dental work finished and get to a good chiropractor) but we are well enough to be home with family for the holidays. Nor is weather a factor in preventing any Christmas gatherings in my Franco-American family, and I recall at least one year where a Christmas blizzard kept two of our number stuck at home while the rest of us celebrated as best we could. As strange as the weather has been (the mistral is blowing right this moment where I am), it didn't stop us from being together.
I got to spend my very first Christmas with my husband and all three of my step-kids, all together. Plus my wonderful sister-in-law. I'm really happy about that, especially since the older two may start making other plans for their holidays as they get older; and Georges is over the moon about getting all this concentrated time with all three of them at once... and his joy makes me even happier.
I got to help coordinate the holiday gifts for the Little Guy (who is on the fence about Père Noel but as many 8-year-olds do, he still sort of wants to believe). We forgot to put one gift, some books, under the tree last night so today I managed to sneak it under the tree and act all surprised that he'd MISSED a Santa gift last night (Santa comes on Christmas eve around here). He's now happily building a massive Lego car. It's fun making Christmas special for a child.
I got to watch the expression on Georges' face when I gave him, as one of his gifts, a USB key containing the first 13 chapters of my new book. I never show anyone what I'm writing when it's a work in progress, and these are 13 very rough chapters, so this is a first for me and a sign of how much we love and trust each other that I would actually WANT to show him what I've done so far.
I was the recipient of several very lovely gifts myself: among them, several lovely scarves of varying sizes, types and colors, an unexpected gift of very pretty necklaces from my older step-son (I have seen more of the artist/architect in him coming out this holiday, as he was in charge of decorating our tree here at my SIL's and then his choices in gifts show how he considers color and design in things), and a lovely silver choker collar from Georges that I'd asked for to replace the old one I was wearing with my favorite giant moonstone pendant. He chose the perfect thing! And I love watching other people open gifts even more than I like getting them.
We had an amazing dinner last night (the French really know how to do a meal) with our six family members and two friends, starting with an apéro of champagne (Champommy for the youngest) and too many hors d'oeuvres for just 8 people (fois gras, smoked salmon, caviar). Then for the entrée it was oysters and shrimp, with mayonnaise made by Georges. The main course was a magret de canard (duck) and potatoes, followed by salad (with homemade sauce by Georges. We topped it off with an amazing tiramisu made by my step-daughter, whom, we have all decided, makes the best tiramisu on the planet. (We don't even bother ordering it in restaurants anymore because we're always disappointed.) We saved the buche de noel for today because we simply could not eat one more thing.
Last but not least, Santa brought me my last-minute Christmas wish: we woke up to blazing sunshine today for the first time in a week filled with too much rain. A good day to get out and enjoy it; which we're going to do right now.
I hope that you got at least some of your own Christmas wishes fulfilled. I hope you all have as much to be happy and grateful about as I do right now... I have love and light and laughter in my life. What more could I possibly want?
Merry Christmas... and in the words of Dicken's Tiny Tim, "God bless us... every one!"
