Merry Christmas

After seeing and talking to friends and family about their Christmas's this year, there is an overall theme going on... peace between everyone. After the shooting 10 days ago, and many other atrocities, how small they are since, many count their blessings even more so this year to have their loved ones around them.

It's the little things that matter...

My neighbours had their family over on Christmas Eve for their family tradition, and even though there is one family member who no one has talked to in over a year, they decided to make a 'replica' of him with a football head, blown up rubber glove hands, t-shirt and shorts, wrapping paper tube legs and some thongs (flip flops) for feet and put him on an outdoor seat, just to have the sense that he was there. They even gave him a beer to enjoy. They even included him in part of the conversation, asking him what he thought of things... which was hilarious, but sweet at the same time.

A friend of mine lost her mum before Christmas. Her ex-husband has always had her kids at his house Christmas morning due to his European style Christmas Eve being a drunken long night of family occasion. but this year, her husband said 'he' would drive her kids back to her place at midnight (it's a 25 kilometre/15.5 mile drive) so she could have her kids on Christmas morning. She felt so lucky to have them with her to wake up to when she has been so fragile over the past few weeks. She then had Christmas lunch at her sister's place and opened a bottle of Mumm champagne to toast her mum for Christmas, then has felt lucky to have her kids and her nephew around at her place Christmas evening.

There was no bickering at my family Christmas... which is a little bit of a first. No telling kids off, or unappreciated presents, no kids crying because one hurt the other. No heavy food, as we all have to bring a course, and usually someone over does it forgetting who they are catering for. We ate as it came out, casually and very relaxed. Mum announced that she would like to take us away as a family for a weekend to a sleepy coastal town as the entire family (17 people) as a gift from my Grandad's Estate to all of us, which is nice and appreciated.

My Facebook friends all seem to have had lovely days... plenty of wine drunk, getting together with cousins in out of the way places, lots of laughter and banter. Even plenty of family group shots posted. Maybe I'm noticing for the first time, but I don't think it's been so obvious before that people are happy to have the family group shot posted on Facebook.

The theme behind the peace is love and acceptance... I sincerely hope, if you are still enjoying your Christmas Day with your family and friends, that you too are feeling a warm happiness of love and acceptance. Merry Christmas to all my loyal readers and friends. Let's hope the Mayans are right, and post December 21, 2012 is the time of a new era in this world where everyone finds peace and happiness.