Lovely days

When I was a kid we had a lovely christmas with our mum and dad, brother and sisters, grandmothers and neighbours. We had lovely pressies, lovely lunch, lovely dinner, and at the end of the day we vanished into our bedrooms to get a good night's sleep which would lead us into just another day. Christmas day was for children.

As we got older our christmas days were joined with our new partners, friends and new neighbours, and as we got older again some of us had 'lost' our partners and the christmas days were the same lovely days but with different people. Christmas day was for 'older' children.

I had thought of this day until my kids were grown up. My dad died in the middle of the year, 2001. Christmas day was certainly for children. When I met my second husband neither of us were really into christmas days, and we drove our own cars or rode our own motorbikes around Waikato in NZ, later Queensland in Australia, to enjoy our own christmas days, have a takeaway lunch, head home again. It was so peaceful, not dragged into christmas celebration. Mum died in the middle of the year, 2007, but christmas day was certainly for children.

My son, his wife and two kids moved to Aus, and for our first christmas with my grandchildren we actually had a lovely family event, at my home, with me cooking our lovely lunch and lovely dinner. Christmas was for children and family. That only lasted one year when my son's wife decided she didn't like me and christmas was at their own home, with only my daughter and in-law. Not me, but I didn't miss christmas - just my grandchildren.

My second husband eventually missed his NZ family and headed back to NZ for christmas, without me. He'd come back to Aus, but after two years of him doing that he decided that his family meant lots to him, and left me. Lovely present.

How many people can think this way about christmas? I watched some news and ads on TV and retailers were trying to convince everyone that christmas was okay, good. Lovely. Shops were left open a whole night before christmas day, supermarkets were so full. Everyone spending money. Very few people were alone, understanding that they would be alone on christmas day.

Me? I will have a lovely lunch with my daughter and in-law, I bought them some lovely pressies and will get something lovely back, I even bought something for my dogs! Then I will come home, retreat into my office/spare bedroom and play cards on my computer.

This particular day doesn't mean anything to me. I wish all my readers a lovely day. Just not christmas.