Express Christmas

Every holiday season there is that time span when the most classic movies are played over and over leading up to the big day. When Christmas rolls around you can count on seeing “Home Alone”, “Home Alone 2”, “National Lampoons Christmas Vacation”, and “A Christmas Story” leading up to the big day. However, this year it was a tv show that really captured the Christmas spirit for me. Modern Family had an episode called “Express Christmas” and it was perfect. The family can’t come together on Christmas Day so they have to get creative and have Christmas early without any time to plan. The day is filled with wild family antics and surprises. For the first time Steven and I are trying to celebrate all of our family’s holidays together which has meant not one, but several “express” Christmases.

So far, we have had two of our Christmases. The first was in Lake City, Minnesota with my mom’s side of the family. It was great to be able to get together with aunts, uncles, counsins, and the whole extended crew since baseball tends to make it hard for Steven to be part of family gatherings. It was our version of an “Express Christmas” completed with an evening mass and delicious meal.

The second Christmas we’ve had was with my parents and between Steven and I here in Wisconsin. Since we will be traveling I will miss my immediate family’s Christmas so we decided to have that early too. Usually my family has our Christmas early so it wasn’t much of a change from other years but I did miss having my sisters there.

Our next celebrations are in North Carolina which means at the end of the week we’ll pack up the car, throw in the dog, and start our 16 hour drive to Asheville. Steven was there in the fall and I haven’t been back since last Christmas break so we are both excited to see family and friends. Although we get to spend just over a week there our schedule is already filling up. Somehow, Steven has even managed to get a hunting trip in there! I’ve never hunted and definitely never killed anything so it should be interesting to say the least. Aside from all of the Christmas celebrations, we will also be celebrating Steven’s birthday.…a quarter of a century!

After the 1st of the year we have to head back since the schools start up which means back to work and teaching for me. Managing all of the Christmases, celebrations, and a road trip has definitely required some organization and been hectic. It’s required us to work together and compromise and I’m sure the 32 hours in the car will really put us to the test. Just like in Modern Family, hijinks and mishaps are to be expected by the time all is said and done. Christmas this year has been and will be different than our family Christmases from the past but as Gloria says, “Family is family. Whether it’s the one you start out with, the one you end up with, or the family you gain along the way.”