Itty Bitty Baby Cable: Lochlan's 1st Christmas and New Years

I always loved Christmas as a small child. Growing up, it was always about spending time with family. We divided the holiday time between Grandpap and Grandma Terri's on Christmas Eve, Mamaw and Pappy at Mom's house on Christmas morning, and then Nana and Pap's on Christmas Day.

On Christmas Eve, we would go with my mom to my Grandpap and Grandma Terri's for a family dinner and presents with them. When we returned home, we would each leave a note to Santa. We would also leave out cookies for him and treats for the reindeer. Christmas morning started at 7 or 8am, depending on how old my younger siblings were at the time. We then had to (sometimes) wait for my dad to get off of work. The rule was that we could NOT go and look at the gifts underneath the tree until he got home, so we were always isolated to the formal dining room or the steps. While I would complain and complain, some of my fondest memories are being woken up at the crack of dawn by my siblings to sit excitedly at the bottom of the steps until we got the "go ahead" from mom and dad to race into the living room to see what Santa left us. Santa always brought us one or two of our "big" gifts, and mom and dad provided the rest. We also had an amazing tradition that I plan to continue with my son. Santa Mouse also visited on Christmas night and left a small, unique gift for each of us hidden in the tree. It was always tied with a yellow ribbon. I was always the last to find mine, but I always loved helping my younger siblings excitedly find theirs. I have to purchase the book for next year since Mom can't seem to find our copy. After presents with Mom and Dad, Mamaw (my mom's mom) and Pappy would come over and we would exchange gifts with them. Dad cooked breakfast while we played with all of our gifts. Christmas breakfast was always scrambled eggs smothered in cheese with a side of sweet meat (venison) and toast. We would see all of our cousins (on my dad's side) at Nana and Pap's, and we would spend the day hiding behind Pap's bar downstairs fighting over who was going to be bartender next and making one another drinks (non-alcoholic of course).

Then I grew up and things changed.

Well, I suppose it's a little less dramatic than that.

I remember the first time that I realized Christmas had lost it's altruistic glow of simplicity and took on the materialistic glint that I've come to despise. It took me awhile to figure out how to appropriately articulate my disgust, but eventually I put pen to paper. My senior year I wrote a politically correct editorial in my school paper about how horribly commercialized Christmas had become over the past few decades. Little did I know (gulp) ten years ago how much further corporate America could take the Christmas season into the fall. This year, my first with a child, I noticed that Halloween began in September and Christmas moved in swiftly after the Halloween costumes vanished. Actually...Walmart had Christmas decorations "hidden" in the back of the store around mid-October. Nothing disgusts me more.

Last year, we announced to family that we were expecting our nugget, and in that announcement, I felt the magic creeping back in just a bit. Then the decorations and corporate America laughed at me in October. Further, things were even more "different" than just having a new addition. My brother and his girlfriend weren't able to make it home from their new home on the west coast and there was a huge empty spot left behind in the absence of my Great Grandma Grace. She died shortly after Lochlan was born (mom says she waited for him), and I wasn't able to make it home to say goodbye to her because of nugget's early arrival. It was unbelievably odd to not have my brother there to open presents and celebrate New Year's Eve with us. Usually he brings all of the fun! And I really didn't like not having Grandma Grace there. She was our family keystone, and I can't help but know that my son has missed an immeasurable opportunity to know such a real, classy, elegant woman.

I guess the lesson this year is that things will always change. Thus is the conundrum of life and it's infinite malleability. I suppose that it's up to me to recreate that magic I once felt and saw for my son and make sure that he doesn't find himself disenchanted by the materialism of Christmas until he's old enough to understand what made Christmas so magical for him as a young boy.

Soon my nugget will be 6 months old. I can't wait for that blog post! So much has changed in a month! But for now, I will just leave the pictures below for your enjoyment. Our Christmas and New Years was absolutely beyond fabulous, and I can't wait for the wonderful, awe-inspiring year that is to come!