Saturday, December 05, 2009

Virtual Advent: Family

Large_Advent_1 Family and Christmas have always been linked for me. It’s been that way all my life, so much so that I never really thought about it, it just was.

When I was a child, it was a given that we would spend Christmas with either one or other set of grandparents, or more likely both. Sometimes they came to us, but more often than not, we went to stay with them. This was easier said than done, as my parents had moved away from the area where they were born and lived in New Zealand’s North Island, while their parents all lived in the South Island. We would all pile into the car – my mother, my father, my brother and sister and I – and start driving southwards.

When I was small, Mum would pack the footwells in the back of the car and then put a cot mattress on top. This was in the days before car seats, so my siblings and I had harness seatbelts that let us move around, and this meant we could lie down and have a sleep if we wanted or needed to. We usually left before daylight to drive two hours to Wellington where we waited in line to drive onto the ferry and start the three hour sail across Cook Strait.

It must have been hard on my parents, keeping us entertained for both the trip and the wait in the queue. I remember one particular year when I was probably in my early teens. I had borrowed a book of Goon Show scripts from the library and brought it with me. I distinctly remember my father sitting in the driver’s seat with his sleeves rolled up and the window rolled down, the sun shining outside (remember, Christmas is in summer in New Zealand), while he read one of the scripts and did all the silly voices. I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for The Dreaded Batter Pudding Hurler (of Bexhill-on-Sea) as a result.

It was about a twelve hour trip all up as I recall and we would arrive at my grandparents’ house all tired and cranky and quite possibly woken up from sleep. But we were children; we recovered quickly and soon got on with the serious business of the summer holiday.

hillcrest Christmas Day itself was shared between both sets of grandparents. We would spend Christmas Eve at my mother’s parents, open presents there in the morning and have a full-on Christmas Dinner at lunchtime. This was a full English Christmas Dinner, which makes less sense that you might think when you remember it was the middle of summer. After lunch we all climbed back into the car and drove about an hour and a half to my father’s parents. We would have leftovers and salad for tea and often shared it with our cousins.

On into the next generation, it never occurred to me that things would be any different. Sure, my husband and I live about 600km from our parents (although at least they live in the same town, which my grandparents didn’t) but at Christmas we load ourselves and Marcus into the car and, just as my family did a generation ago, head south. We have a meal with both families (and happily, summery meals like barbeques are much more common these days) and catch up with our siblings and their spouses, while Marcus gets to play with his cousin. Like when I was a child, this is just the way it is.

familychristmas2008

But our family had a big shock this year. In October, my sister-in-law was in a serious car accident. She was driving home from another town when a car going in the other direction lost control on the wet road and ploughed into her. She was air-lifted to hospital and it was touch and go for the first day or two. Seven weeks later, she is mending slowly, but is still in hospital and likely to be there for a while yet. She has a lot of rehabilitation and readjustment to go through in her future.

But she is still here with us. And that is an enormous blessing.

We have no idea at this point where we will be for Christmas Day, but it won’t be the routine we’re used to. My in-laws have been fantastic and are willing to fit in with my side of the family’s needs and plans – once we know what they are. And we will be together at Christmas, with my husband’s family and – thank God – with my family too. There might be an empty seat at the table, but that will mean we’ll be taking some Christmas dinner up to the hospital, not that my brother has lost his wife and my niece her mother.

So if you get together with your family this Christmas, no matter if there are squabbles, or frustrations, or embarrassments (all of which happen in the best of families) take a moment to be grateful that you’re all there to share the holiday together. I can assure you that my family will be doing exactly that.

My Christmas wishes to you and your family. May you have a wonderful day, together or apart, and remember what a blessing family is.

Follow the Virtual Advent Calendar here.

15 comments:

Marg said...

Thank you so much for sharing about your family Christmas. To be honest, it sounds exactly like I would have loved to have had. And thanks for the update on your SIL. I have wondered how she is going.

sprite said...

What a good reminder of the truly important part of holidays. Best of luck to your SIL with her continued recovery.

Meryl said...

A very good reminder, indeed! Happy Christmas to you!

Aarti said...

I hope your sister-in-law recovers fully, even if it takes some time. Thank you for sharing such a personal story with us- I hope all the best for you and your family.

PS- That house in your picture is beautiful!

Kailana said...

What a wonderful post. I hope that your SIL makes a speedy recovery! Happy Holidays to your family and thanks for joining in with the Virtual Advent!

Unknown said...

Your family tradition is wonderful. The holidays are all about family for many people & it's a great tradition I think. I love that family & Christmas are so linked for you there's no question of spending it together. Sure the traveling can be a bit frustrating but that's really pasrt of the tradition, too! What everyone goes through just to be together! lol Everyone gets a little grouchy about the aggravating part of tradition & the holidays but coming together to celebrate won't change which is why we can be a little cranky about it!

I'm so sorry to hear about your SIL's accident. Thank goodness she is healing. It sounds like it's even more important for your family to be together this Christmas. I hope it all works out for you & your SIL continues to heal and feel better.
Merry Christmas to you & your family.

Julia Phillips Smith said...

I adored this post about travelling to be with family at Christmas. When I was a kid, just the drive across the city to go to my aunt & uncle's for Christmas Eve was exciting. Then it turned into a 45-minute drive when they moved to a smaller town. Then it turned into an epic two-hour flight when I moved to another city. Now I'm back home and it's only a drive across the city again - but always to my aunt & uncle's for Christm,as Eve.

Prayers for your sister-in-law's recovery.

Louise said...

Hope that your sister in law will recover fully and be able to celebrate christmas with you next year. Loved your story about family travelling for christmas. And also still need to get my head round the fact that you are celebrating christmas during summer ;o)

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz said...

Yes, we should always focus on our blessings. Thank you for the reminder.

Stop by my blog if you get a chance and take a look at my list of favorite children's Christmas picture books. A winter storm knocked out our Internet connection yesterday, so I ended up posting today.

www.readerbuzz.blogspot.com.

Tami said...

As the only one of my siblings that moved away from our home town, Hubby and I and kids have always traveled for Christmas, so I understand your tradition well. Thanks for the reminder of what is truly important.

Jo said...

What a wonderful post! Thank you for sharing, and I'm sorry to hear about your sister-in-law. I love how you get to spend time with all your family at Christmas. It's not so easy for me; my brother has 6 siblings, my mum one, and all of us are quite a bit away from each other, so we can never see everyone over the Christmas period. We just alternate where Christmas is held each year, and who visits who. A great time is always had :)

Kathy said...

A lovely post indeed. Our famiy Christmases are also incredibly special. Your story brought tears to my eyes and gratitude to my heart. (Gratitude that none of my family are hurt)

Jenn said...

What a great post for the Virtual Advent Tour. It really is important to pass on those traditions.
I hope that this holiday season your SIL continues to make improvements and you find a way to spend time with all of your family.

Cat said...

Wow. All the best to your sister-in-law. I hope she recovers well and I am happy that she survived. It will be a different Christmas for sure, but you will still have family. Family is a constant at this time of year. I appreciate mine more and more every year despite the stress and frustration we might deal with at gatherings. ;)

Thank you!

Rob said...

I loved reading about your family and holiday traditions. Some day I hope to visit New Zealand. Best wishes and Mele Kalikimaka.