Old and New

Being married comes with a lot of changes. Some you adjust to right away, and some I think I may never get quite use to. Changes go with living though. Unfortunately I still haven't found the rewind or pause buttons. As surprising as it may seem (or not) there are hundreds of moments I wouldn't mind going back to…and they all have two common threads: traditions and loved ones.

In my family the holidays have always been that time of year I knew what to expect. I found comfort in knowing no matter what happened we would always go to a Christmas tree farm and drink cider, and help my Dad pick out the best tree. I think he got most of the votes, but he always chose the best Christmas tree on the whole farm. We would go home and eat my dad's cookies and decorate them, and by decorate I mean I was suppose to put maraschino cherries on them but I ate the cherries when no one was looking. No matter how old my brothers get they still argue over whose ornament is whose. Hint: our initials are on the bottom boys! Christmas Eve for me always meant being together, laughing a lot, and attending a candle lit service that night. We would wake up for stalkings and mom frantically cooking for Christmas dinner the next morning. I would help her crumble bread and open cans. The contents of the olive cans would end up on my ten fingers. New years Eve my Dad always makes homemade ice cream. We all expect it even though we are grown up for the most part. Traditions bring comfort when everything else may be falling apart. Maybe because we know we always have our family, or maybe it's because it is stability in this far from stable life.  

Last year Kyle and I tried to be two places at once. Guess how well that went? So this year we are testing out the every other year. Kyle doesn't talk about any deep rooted traditions, at least not beyond the normal dinner and time with at least immediate family. I contribute that to him being a boy. Even if families don't have a million quirky things they do together like my family, it still means so much to have the traditional dinner and time spent with them. For Thanksgiving we spent our weekend with the Aamots and Kyles extended family in Spokane. I was nervous that I would be insanely homesick and fall apart at some point or other, but I actually felt welcomed. I left a sobbing message to Bridget while she was in labor. I missed it, and if I could have I would have flown home just for that night. We had Aunt Karen and Uncle Rob and Kyle's family over Wednesday night. It was so good to see everyone, and feeling blessed with some great new relatives helped being away from my family. Karen and Rob are full of hugs and I LOVE them for that. Baby Cohen was born Thanksgiving morning healthy and happy. We headed up to Spokane and had dinner at Kyle's Aunt Debbie and Uncle Bob's house. I think I filled up on cookies before any of the actual food was done! Kyle's cousins found a dead deer in the woods…newly dead…so Kyle kept it. The next night we went to a Thanksgiving parade and firework show. Rob almost gave Matt a hernia on the drive home, probably had to be there. We went back to Kyle's cousin Charlie's for soup and the unveiling of her Christmas lights. She goes ALL out. Like people driving by stop and stare. I guess these may become our every-other year traditions for the time being. I am okay with that though (minus the dead deer). As long as I don't miss any more Ingram births on my year away! It is nice to have family and new family that can make you laugh and feel loved. One thing I have to remember for next time though: do not try to keep up with a Catholic family when it comes to drinking wine. I will fail, and my body will hate me the next week, even if it is so good at the time.

Thankful for our family (old and new) and friends. Love, us.