Well this is different. For the first time in 40 years Betty & I are celebrating Christmas without our family. It is also the first Christmas where we are sitting outside in the Arizona sun, without a hint of snow in the air or on the ground. Like the character Tevye in “Fidler On The Roof” we are a family steeped in tradition, and are definitely not accustomed to breaking all those customs. This is very different!
Yes, we enjoyed some FaceTime with our family a couple of days ago, while they joined together for the traditional Chinese food pre-Christmas meal. And Betty & I did get our annual FaceTime with the Queen today, as she delivered her Christmas message. (Note to our kids, in case you missed it: I saved a copy on our VCR, so you can see it when you come down to Phoenix for a belated Christmas celebration next month. lol)
In the meantime, we truly miss this traditional time with each of our kids and grandkids, especially our dear granddaughter, Georgia, who had to spend a very non-traditional Christmas eve night and part of Christmas day in Winnipeg’s Children’s Hospital as she prepares for surgery to have her appendix removed tomorrow! Here’s expecting another great story to tell about a very memorable Christmas, and a most unique Boxing Day present!
While the Christmas carols we sang at church on Sunday were traditional, the church itself was far from it. We were still on BLM land at Quartzsite, with very few structures in the desert. On Sundays, the picnic shelter doubles as a church, and it was in that outdoor space that we sang “Oh Come All Ye Faithfull” and other favourites, led by a cowboy preacher in the appropriate hat and boots.
We have no room for a Christmas tree in our motorhome, and Christmas decorations are few and far between, except for the ornaments we passed on this Lake Havasu City tree, which was next to a fully loaded orange tree, which was in front of two palm trees and a thriving cactus. You don’t see that every day in Winnipeg. lol
Yes, this is all very different. But the reason for the season remains the same. We hope to be reunited with our family again on FaceTime later today, and pray that we and you can enjoy a very happy Christmas and wonder-filled new year!
Cheers!
“O come, all ye faithful
Joyful and triumphant
O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem
Come and behold Him
Born the King of Angels!
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
Christ the Lord
O come, all ye faithful
O come, all ye faithful
O come, all ye faithful to Bethlehem
O come, all ye faithful
O come, all ye faithful
O come, all ye faithful to Bethlehem
Oh, sing, choirs of angels
Sing in exultation
Oh, come, oh come ye to Bethlehem
Come and behold Him
Born the King of Angels
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
Christ the Lord…”
