Christmas Vacation, Revisited

Christmas break becomes more and more difficult to plan as you grow into an adult. As a kid, everything is planned for you - the presents, the activities, the Christmas Spirit. But once you have tripped into the precipice of grown-upped-ness, it is on you to make it all happen.

Mind you, I am not a parent. I don't have any children clinging to my ankles eagerly awaiting the arrival of Santa. But I don't use that as an excuse to simply ignore Christmas. I have the comforting Christmas Spirit packaged away in boxes that Tim has ceremoniously moved four times over the past year.

I am ready, at a moment's notice, to make Christmas happen.

Yes, one does have to make it happen. Again, the onslaught of adulthood nurtures a sense of irritability during Christmas. You have to overlook this. You have to overlook the traffic, the multitude of shoppers, the incompetence of customer service, the greed. You have to look past that extra ten pounds that you are hopeless to gain, the laziness that ultimately creeps in at work as the holidays approach, and the fact that yes your family did draw names this year - and no - you cannot trade with someone else.

None of us had to overlook this stuff as kids. It all happened so easily for us - we coasted into Christmas morning buoyed by thoughts of Santa's magic and the holy trinity of Christmas booty: toys, clothes and food. But the years creep on, and Santa creeps out, somehow becoming just another overzealous icon of consumerism.

But this year - this year Christmas is truly happening for me. Yes, I did have to make it happen. I had to buy airline tickets and renew a couple of passports. But beyond that, both Tim and I have had the luxury of looking forward to our Christmas vacation for months, knowing that plans were in place to make it the best Christmas on record.



We are bound for an eco-lodge in Nicaragua. We are not alone. There will be seventeen of our family present to enjoy this once in a lifetime holiday celebration. We are not taking presents - and I have to admit that I haven't wrapped a thing this time around. There is no tree at our house and not one twinkling light.

But Christmas is a feeling, isn't it? It is brought on by love and companionship, not the amount of gifts one scores, or lights that one strings - and that is something that I only learned as an adult. So before I go all Linus Van Pelt on you and deliver a speech about the true spirit of Christmas, I'll just hope that each of you enjoys the warmth and love of the holiday season.

Don't gaze at the possibility of that wrapped box - look into the eyes of those that surround you Christmas Day and be thankful that you are able to share a moment of holiday happiness with those that you love.

Of course when I do that this year, I will be able to look over the shoulders of the ones I love and see a beach in the distance.

To indulge in such an experience... now that, my friends, is Christmas.