Our tree is up. It’s officially December. I no longer feel guilty about the minimal decorations we’d had up for the last week of November (we had broken my strict rule of no Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving/my birthday, and I had scurried around them, defying their cheer), and now the holiday tunes are in full swing throughout the house. If you’re an Apple Music subscriber, you can listen along with us:
In the spirit of the season, I woke up this morning with a scratch in my throat and a cold headache. This I can handle – it’s when Sohrab gets sick that we’re worried. I’ll be able to shake it off soon enough, but when he’s sick, he’s down and out for at least a couple weeks. Please Santa, I don’t want my husband to be sick for Christmas! So I’ll drink tea as he sips his Starbucks Christmas Blend and cozy up to one another from opposite sides of the couch. Marriage, people. It’s about weathering the storm while hoping you don’t get your spouse sick in the process.
On another note, spouse is such a strange word. It reminds me of a tawny brown mouse. Homely. Quaint. Alas, my mind drifts.
Three weeks from today, Sohrab and I will be flying with my parents west across the sea to visit my sister and her husband in Hawai’i for Christmas. She and I switched spots – I went to school on O’ahu for four years, and she is now living and working there. It’ll be nice to be back on the island, in amongst the familiar but not quite the same – a lot changes in five years. I’ll get to see Salia’s Hawai’i while remembering my own – and perhaps finally take Sohrab to the places I’ve promised throughout the years, experiences missed despite his several visits while we were long distance.
Since it just wouldn’t feel right making a hot holiday drink while in such a warm place like Hawai’i, I’ll delve into such things as glühwein while we are still on the mainland – but there are a few things I’ll be able to travel with. I made a gluten-free spiced pecan coffee cake yesterday with the intent of trying it out for Christmas morning. The recipe came from a cookbook Sohrab gave me for my birthday last week, and it came out of the oven just as magical as I had hoped. It’s perfect for Christmas morning, so add that to the to-do list while on O’ahu.
So, while I won’t have a white Christmas (and only have maybe once), I am officially in the holiday spirit. I pledge to be for the remainder of the season. I’ll wake up every morning with a smile, a twinkle in my eye, and start the day with positivity.
Every season should be like this.
