Just a quick photo to prove to you that I'm still here...Yes, I know. Its been a while. A llllooooonnnggg while. No time for excuses. Where did I leave off? Hmmmm....oh yeah, the holidays. THE HOLIDAYS. In a word, WHOOSH! Okay seriously, ZOOOM! But really, they flew by me so fast even I find it hard to believe they were impressionable enough for me to remember them 2 months later. Was Christmas really over 2 months ago? I feel like it was yesterday. A quick look in the mirror the other day reminded me that the time has actually passed. Yes, those wirey gray hairs I had camouflaged on December 27th by my now future sister-in-law are beginning to boast their silvery shine. And that inch or so she cut off this insane head of hair is back with a vengeance...do I wait 15 more weeks for a haircut or brave a haircut in Taiwan? Decisions, decisions. Back to the holidays.
We left for the US on 12/19 at 11:55pm and arrived some 25 hours later in Raleigh Durham on 12/20 at 10:30am or so. Caitlin was the best she could possibly be (she slept the entire time) and we miraculously made all of our connections despite random snow storms in southern California and Illinois. I cried tears of joy when the landing gear hit the runway at the Raleigh Durham Airport. I could have popped a tent right there and called it home. Anywhere in the same time zone as our families was good enough to call home at that point. We were tired and smelly (Caitlin threw up on the landing in CA...2 flights earlier), but Matt's parents embraced us anyway and brought us to our house. And so it began - "it" being the race to see everyone and do all the things we miss doing AND the holiday season was now, truly and officially upon us. I still get goosebumps and tears when I remember feeling the air on my face in Raleigh. My thoughts were something like, "I have arrived Lord. Let the spirit of this miraculous season fall upon my thoughts, my dreams, my actions and my family." And so it did. More than ever before, it did.
The spirit of Christmas is something I haven't felt in ages. There seems to be more obligations, productions, commercialism and less festiveness and Matt and I haven't really found the time to carve out traditions of our own because we're so busy running from family to family each year. So, here we are away from everyone and everything familiar to us for a while and then suddenly plunked into the middle of a seasonal wonderland-complete with the frenzied buzz of both the Christmas Day gift gathering deadline and our own personal grip on those few precious days that we would actually be living in our house. Oddly enough, it was perfect. It was an absolutely perfect way to feel. We kissed and hugged our family, ran through each room of our house just to make sure it was still there, then kissed and hugged each other. It was hard to believe we actually owned that house! We lallygagged through Harris Teeter (our local food store) at 1:00am and hugged boxes of Cheerios, canned tomatoes, organic milk and fun food treats that we haven't seen since August. We sorted through the piles of boxes of gifts we ordered online, wrapped and prepared packages for "the big day." We drove around and looked at lights, smiled at people and soaked it all in. Time stopped for us a little bit. We didn't experience the rush. We just basked in the glow of it all. It was beginning to be my most favorite Christmas EVER.
Probably my most fond memory of Christmas 2008 is a little trip Caitlin and I took to Target. I have always loved Target, but I can't begin to tell you how much more you will love Target when you are away from it for a while. We went stocking and supply shopping for our return trip to Taiwan. The first 2 novelties came all at once - 1 being the fact that the shopping cart actually had a little seat in it for Caitlin to sit and 2 is that I was able to use my "Floppy" which is a little cloth wrap around thing so that Caitlin doesn't have to touch the drooly, germy, fecal matter coated handle while I shop. I LOVE THE USA. First hit the snack bar for a giant soft pretzel and juice to share. We munched and lingered down every isle reading all the labels just because we could. We shopped kids clothes and shoes and greeting cards that I could read and books and toys and food (don't you just love that Archer Farms line of food they have there? Fun stuff to pick on!) and then came the Christmas isles. Keep in mind here that Caitlin hadn't really seen that many Christmas lights. When she saw the trees all lit up she started screaming, "Merry Christmas! Look Mommy, Merry Christmas!!" Then we would go down another isle and she would start up again, "Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Birthday!" For her, it works that way...Christmas, New Year's, birthday (her birthday is on 1/1). Boom! Talk about one stop celebrating. People were looking at us like we just fell off the turnip truck...which in some ways, we had. She unabashedly expressed sheer joy - the kind that made her baby blue eyes sparkle with all the wonders and magic of childhood. Yes, for me the spirit of Christmas had arrived. I was so filled with Christmas cheer that I wanted to wrap myself in "Jersey bulbs" and dance around in the yard. Finally, I didn't care about all the travel and the gifts and packing (ugh!) and decorating and not having a Christmas tree and creating a feeling that was just never quite there...finally. It was a freedom and a happiness that I wish to unleash into my everyday life, (although I must admit I haven't), but at least perhaps into each Christmas from here on out. I believe that in those moments at Target (of all places!) God smiled at me and said, "Merry Christmas Tara."
Just for fun, I thought I'd type out a chronological log of what we packed into 2 weeks...
12/19 at 11:55pm - Depart for LAX
12/19 some 11 hours or so later - Arrive at LAX, go through customs, eat and board plane for Chicago.
12/20 really, really, stupidly early - Board a plane for Raleigh.
12/20 around 10:30am or so - Meet Matt's parents at RDU Airport. Head home.
12/21 at 12:00pm - Matt's family comes to our house to celebrate the winter birthdays (Matt, Denelle and Caitlin).
12/22 at 8:50am - Caitlin's 2 year well visit at the doctor!
12/22 - Wrapped presents!
12/23 at 9am - Matt & Tara go to the dentist.
12/23 at 11:am - Caitlin visits Miss Jeannie for her 2 year portrait.
12/23 - shortly thereafter Caitlin and I went to lunch at our favorite spot (Whole Foods), had yogurt parfaits and chocolate chip cookies!
12/23 - sometime after lunch we went to Target.
12/24 - Packed our overnight bags and headed to Matt's parents' house to drop off our gifts and then dinner at Denelle's house and then off to church. Slept at Matt's parents' house because they had a tree for us to celebrate with.
12/25 - Heller Family Christmas!
12/26 - Packed our bags and flew to PHL for Hunter Family Christmas!
12/27 - Had my hair done by Leslee and hopped in the car for a trip up to NY for the Della Torre Family Christmas!
12/28 - Drove back to PA.
12/29 - Caitlin had a really high fever so we brought her to an urgent care center and found she had an ear infection.
12/30 - A much needed pajama day! Mom and I went shopping in the afternoon.
12/31 - Drove up to NJ for the family New Year's Eve party.
1/1 - Caitlin's 2nd birthday! Party at the Gigi's!
1/2 - Another pajama day.
1/3 - Flew back to Taiwan.
Whew. See what I mean? Attached is a link to our pictures. Enjoy!
Here are some shots from Caitlin's 2nd birthday (up north):
And then some from her southern party:
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