New Christmas Traditions

This is our first Christmas as a married couple. We thought it would be a time for establishing our own Law-Eyre blended family traditions, but it's actually turned out to be an odd transitional year.

Two years ago, it was business as usual. We were just two single people with mild crushes on each other - not enough to disrupt normal family traditions. So Ian went off to Atlanta for his usual two-week visit, saw a million of his college buddies, engaged in such traditions as midnight Christmas service at the local Baptist church followed by a grease-fest at the Waffle House, his annual burning (a la Viking funeral) of the previous year's Christmas wreath, and the New Year's Eve firing of the potato cannon. And I retired to my parents' home for a week and a half of rest, reading, sleeping, lots of digital cable TV, delicious concoctions of leftovers that my mom brilliantly whips up. And one huge extended-clan Christmas gathering involving 30-40 relatives (yielding the leftovers we eat for the rest of the week).

Last year was a slight modification of the norm. Ian and I were engaged, it was my brother's first married Christmas, and my parents moved to Norco, or what my brother calls Nor-tucky (so named for the abundance of Hay and Seed storefronts on the road leading to the Law homestead). So the occupancy in the Law home was different for Christmas and the environment was different, but we got lots of rest, reading, sleeping, digital cable TV, and another huge extended-clan Christmas gathering, but missed out on the leftovers because we then went to Atlanta. Although we spent much of our time in Atlanta addressing invitations to our wedding, we still indulged in a grease-fest at the Waffle House (followed by a 1 AM session of bowling), the annual burning of the previous year's Christmas wreath, and the New Year's Eve firing of the potato cannon (which I'm realizing might actually be slightly illegal).

But this year feels different. We haven't gone to nearly as many Christmas parties as we used to. We didn't get to participate in the usual roommate traditions, although I did go back to the 5th annual tree-decorating party that started when my former roommates and I first moved into the House on 6th. But we haven't done anything special in our own home, unless you count that fact that I've put all the Christmas cards we've received on display on our dining room table. We haven't even sent out any Christmas cards. It just didn't feel right, considering we haven't finished the thank you notes from our wedding 10 months ago.

And going "home" will be different for both of us. We'll have less time at each family's home. And the parents are making preparations that make it seem like we're guests instead of family members. My parents bought a new queen-sized bed (it's a pillow-top!) and Ian's parents are talking about giving up their master bedroom for us to stay in.

But there is one thing that makes this Christmas particularly poignant, indicating the beginning of new Christmas traditions in 2006 for the Ian Eyre family. I've got this little life growing in me, who kicks and stomps his frustration at the cramped quarters I offer him in my abdominal cavity...this little one who occupies my thoughts and inspires dreams of the ways he might be able to impact his generation positively. And I think of how the Creator of the Universe allowed Himself to be entrapped in someone else's teeny womb for 9 months to emerge in humble circumstances to bring hope and life for generations of people. I feel a sense of awe that I probably couldn't ever grasp before. So I'm not going to worry about not having traditions to start this first year of marriage. Next year will be different. With Juancho's presence, many of the traditions we could indulge in as single people will have to go (no more post-midnight activities - at least not without a baby sitter). But I hope this sense of anticipation, awe, and hope will continue to pervade future Christmases, establishing meaningful new family traditions for us.

Clarice