Christmas as Travelers

Christmas time brings nostalgia to all of us.  Fond memories of Christmas Eve’s spent anxiously awaiting Santa.  Tearing through wrapping paper, rabid for the next toy or ugly sweater neatly tucked into a flimsy cardboard box.  We all have our favorites.  El and I have ours too.

Our First Christmas

Our first Christmas as a married couple we spent it just the three of us.  Ellen and I, and our rescue puppy Layla.  Layla was a birthday present for me, but because she was so terrified of men, due to prior abuse, for the first few months I had to nearly tip-toe around the house not to scare her off.  Our first Christmas together we were nearly broke, so we decided on essentially just one gift for each of us.  With a typical half uninterested half bemused look, Layla watched us trade presents. Then unwrap, and smile, and laugh, and hug and kiss.  Only to next find a wrapped present of her own being placed at her paws.  With surprisingly little assistance from us thumbed-ones she soon had the bone free and was thumping her tail all around the house…. crying and whimpering the entire time.  She would come up to us over and over placing her paws on our laps to get high enough to look us nearly direct in the eye.  Now, I’m not one for over anthropomorphizing, but if that wasn’t her way of communicating her appreciation and love then I don’t know what was.

Since graduating from Physical Therapy school Ellen and I have only made it home for a handful of holidays.  Sometimes together, often not.  We simply could never get the time off of work.  In the years that we have been traveling our perspective has changed.  Our priorities have changed.  We now live in distant (often exotic) locations with a very minimalist lifestyle.  We take with us essentials and donate or sell what is not and/or doesn’t fit in the truck when it comes time to move again.

The travel lifestyle has changed the way we look at nearly all aspects of life.  The holidays included.

As travelers Christmas has been distilled down to the core essentials of the holiday season.  Faith and Family.

Obviously, the “reason for the season” of Christmas resides in our belief system as Christians.  For the purposes of this blog we will leave it at that.

What has evolved over the last few years however is our increased focus on family and our decreased focus on gifts.

At this point in our lives we have been fortunate enough to own the gear we need for the activities we love to do.  What else could we possibly want?  Even if we did want for something, if it was of any substantial size it couldn’t make the move with us anyways.  On top of that, the standard American consumerist lifestyle tends to sicken us these days.  Now that we have realized how little we actually need to be happy, seeing herds of people (sheeple) trudging through stores buying stuff they don’t need with money they often don’t have because someone on TV told them they need it is just sad.

Given that we are frequently living so far away from family we find ourselves missing the comforts of home a few times throughout the year.  Combining that with the jarring reality of grown up life elucidated in this amazing article, we have become very mindful of the fleeting moments we have remaining with our families.

So what do we do?

After too many years apart during the holidays we have decided that from now on we will always take time (1-2 weeks depending on travel) off to return home to our Ohio bound families.  This year we are only a few hours from home (purposefully) and my contract ends 12/22.  Knowing we wanted a few days to spend with family I simply signed an extension that doesnt start until 12/27.  (We are not taking the full one week because at our current location Ellen sees her parents multiple times a week while I am at work and my folks are only about 3 hours away for quick weekend trips)

As for gifts, we largely have everything we could possibly need.  These days we either focus on experiences (tickets, reservations, outings, etc.) or small thoughtful or necessary presents.  After all, the gift doesn’t matter. But its the “thought that counts.”

The holidays are a time for enjoying old traditions and kindling new ones.  No one remembers each of the dozens of gifts they receive every year.  But we will never forget the bonds built around a warm fireplace or a long dinner table.

While every family must carve their own path in navigating the holidays, we are choosing to soak up as much of the season surrounded by loved ones.

 

Written by: Stephen Stockhausen