Two perspectives

by Ania:

It starts with Facebook and all my friends going out to Christmas tree lots to pick out their favorite and begin to decorate their homes.  I see all the posts with lights, holiday trinkets, and cheerful baking of cookies and gingerbread houses and I try to relish in someone elses’ excitement for the holidays.   I know that soon I’ll see pictures from the holiday parties that I’ll be missing, friends drinking eggnog and feeling joyful as they get into the Christmas spirit.  I’m thrilled that they all get to celebrate, but there is definitely a hint of jealousy that emerges with each new reminder that this year I’m missing Christmas.

I love the Holidays.  As with every family, ours too has developed a set of traditions and rituals that we look forward to every year, which won’t happen this year.  Some are religious, some are traditional, and some just simply joyous. Ah, yes, we should start new traditions and be joyful here!  But yet, Buenos Aires doesn’t seem to be in the Christmas spirit and each day passes with what seems like no hint of the holiday season anywhere.

Our neighborhood appears to be a bit ‘too cool’ unfortunately to be bothered by things like Christmas decorations. Instead we have the embarrassment of the Copa Libertadores and the whole city shutting down for the G20 to worry about.  The dollar shot up again and everyone is talking about when or if the game will be played.  Christmas? Nah… We don’t shop generally so even though malls may have Christmas trees up, we don’s see them.  We don’t get our food at big supermarkets either so no elevator Christmas music.  No secret santas, holiday parties, breakfast with santa and dozens of other festivities.  I hear Starbucks has its holiday display and menu – but I also don’t go there so it’s of no use.  And well, it’s really sunny, warm, and beautiful outside.  So really, Christmas has been relegated to FB and Instagram – some mythical occurrence that we don’t get to participate in.

And to make things worse, we are leaving our apartment in mid-December for our 10-week trip so we are not setting up a Christmas tree or doing any decorations ourselves. In fact, we won’t be ‘home’ for Christmas (or have a home, for that matter).  So not only do we miss the holiday season, at a first glance it appears that we will also miss Christmas itself.  To be sure, this feeling is likely symptomatic of a greater nostalgia for some stability, close friends, and all the things that make our home in California special.  It’s the first time that I truly miss home since we left. I can understand why they say that holidays can be tough for those who are missing loved ones or their homes.

But when I have time to let my mind wonder, I get excited about the actual end of December.  Am I missing all the commercial stuff that I have grown to love?  Yes.  Do I wish we could go see the Nutcracker?  Yes.  Would going to Christmas markets be fun?  Sure. But will I not be ‘home’ for Christmas?  No.  I will be celebrating on the beach with the people who are most important to me, my ‘home’.  It will be different, but still special, I hope.  And really, who am I to whine about taking an extended holiday?

I’ve only once in my life celebrated Christmas away from home.  I was in my early twenties with my then-boyfriend on a beach in Belize.  We took a boat ride on a small speed boat with a Polish couple we had just met at the restaurant where we were dining on Christmas Eve.  I remember the full moon shining on the still ocean and singing Polish Christmas carols as we glided across the water.  It was magical, and more importantly, one of the best Christmases I’ve had, forever etched in my memory.

So although we are not decorating a gingerbread house and we won’t be sitting down for a special Christmas Eve dinner showered in Polish traditions, we’ll be celebrating the gratitude for this year and being together, which is all that really matters.  Perhaps we’ll be lucky enough to have a Christmas that will also be memorable – away from ‘home’ but yet, enchanting, unique, and magical.

In the meantime, I will try to remember that the elevator Christmas music will start playing again next November.  And for now, I will live vicariously via FB and Instagram and focus on sorting out how we’ll get out of town for the G20.

by Rob:

Thank god for a break from the routine of the holidays! Don’t get me wrong, I love that the holidays are a great time to connect with family, take a break from work and reflect and appreciate the blessings in ones’ life. This year though, I’m relishing getting away from it all.

One of the great things about this year, for me, has been our ability to get out of the rat race for awhile. Despite having well paying and interesting jobs, as parents and professionals for many years we’ve been partaking in the well documented chaos that is managing work, kids, a marriage, a house, a social life, vacations, and an attempt at hobbies and free time. Even with my lovely 30 minute bike ride of a commute and living in the quaint town of San Rafael, it is a sprint trying to manage this all, especially when one area spikes to require full attention (work priorities, kids health issues, house projects). My days fly by and are often held together with duck tape and dental floss.

When the holidays come each year, despite all the wonderful things they bring, they pile on top of the aforementioned chaos and often I can’t wait until January for it all to be over. This year, no holiday parties to plan for, no tree to buy, no family to organize. We’ll be on a beach with nothing to do. I look forward to a lovely dinner, a bottle of wine and maybe a glass of champagne while nursing a sunburn.

Also, perhaps without the complications of work, holidays don’t play the same role for us this year. For some people the holidays are a common period where offices are closed and work can be put on the shelf for a week or two. For others, the end of the year can loom and add further stress with the need to close out a quarterly or yearly performance. Taking a year off from work means the holidays bring neither the respite nor the additional stress.

Now, do I want to avoid the holidays for the rest of my life? Probably not. The comfort in the break in the routine is knowing that the routine will be there for you to dive back into when you want to. Next year, assuming we’re fully back in the usual flow, I’ll be just slightly more appreciative of the opportunity to see friends and family and enjoy all the wonderful things that the holidays bring, but I’ll definitely still be complaining.