When Cody and I first moved in together shortly after becoming engaged, I envisioned decorating Christmas trees, baking goodies, wrapping gifts, and nestling into bed to dream of sugarplum fairies together. We would watch all of our favorite Christmas movies and attend Christmas parties together. We would go to the candlelight service at whatever Episcopal church happened to be in the same town as the two of us and attend each other's family Christmases together. The theme of all of this was togetherness. Now, on our first Christmas as a married couple--on the day marking six months of marriage and six years of dating--we are over a hundred miles away from one another.
I would have willingly gone to Valparaiso--after Christmas morning with my family, that is. Even at twenty-four, I'm not sure that I am ready to give up that time with my parents and sister just yet. There are too many traditions, and I would love for Cody to be a part of those. Unfortunately, there are certain priorities that at this point in our marriage have to take precedence over spending time together. The primary one is earning enough that we can pay our bills and keep adding to our nest egg. So at this moment, while I am listening to the animated version of The Grinch playing on the television behind me and relaxing after an intense game of euchre with my family, Cody is asleep with a kitten on the eight hour break he has between the double he pulled last night into this afternoon and the night shift he will start in three hours. He doesn't mind because he gets holiday pay, but he also really misses being with family right now. I miss him too, especially last night at a Christmas Eve party we attend every year. I know people were only asking why Cody was absent and why I was not with him if he couldn't be home out of genuine curiosity, but it was upsetting nonetheless.
In the two years that we lived together full time and the year and a half that we have been living together on weekends, we have only decorated a tree or gone to a candlelight service together once. Cody has never watched A Muppet Christmas Carol with me or stayed the night with me on Christmas Eve. We've only baked goodies together a couple of years. Our Christmases have remained strangely separate, but, God willing, that will change next year. Besides, I'll give up one holiday with my husband in order to spend three days in New York City with him. We leave in three days! Stay tuned!
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