This was a good Christmas for us. No money coming out our ears, but enough to get us by. The boys got more then they could have ever wanted and Phil and I got a few fun things as well. We were able to find a church with a candlelight service last night and were even visited by Santa while we were sleeping (he must have received our forwarding address notice).
Even with all of that, this time of year tends to make me homesick. I lived 21 years of my life in the same house, following the same traditions and then I went crazy enough for a guy to follow him all over the world. I've found that my homesick-ness now is not just limited to northern California, where I'm from, but also includes all the places we've lived. I miss driving through downtown Gaeta and seeing the Auguri sign lit up above the street. I miss massive fireworks all around the Gulf of Gaeta on New Years at midnight. This year I really miss snow and really cold weather that makes you want to stay inside and cuddle up on the couch with cocoa and a good movie (in some cases even a bad one will work). I miss the smell of our old house and the friends we left behind. I miss all those things just as much as I miss the high school Christmas concert where all alumni are invited to join in the Hallelujah Chorus or how the air feels through my open window on the way to Grandma's house on Christmas morning. When I agreed to this life I didn't realize I was agreeing to a life full of missing. We've tried to learn how to "miss" well by staying in touch a reminiscing, but this time of year seems to bring to the front of my mind all of those things all over again.
And yet here we've started yet another chapter of our life together. Each chapter has had a bit of a rough start unique to the circumstances surrounding it but we're getting through the adjustments and all the missing just fine. I'm sure someday we'll be missing this place just as much as the others. In the mean time, we wanted to let all of our loved ones from all the different places in our life know that we miss you terribly and hope you had a really great Christmas this year.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
2 comments:
What a poignant post. I recognize that "missing" thing...it's exactly what third culture kids experience, too. You're always homesick, all your life. But it's also sweet, because you've been so enriched to see so many places.
And what a great video! Your lads are so cute. :) Merry Christmas to all in the Pickle household!
Omigosh, your kids are adorable! Thanks for posting that cuteness online. :)
I know what you mean as well about missing places and people. Sometimes my memories take me back to Tennessee and the hills they call mountains. lol
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