Soundtrack Selection: SNL Christmas Song by Jimmy Fallon, Tracy Morgan, Chris Kattan and Horatio Sands (watch it at http://www.spike.com/video/snl-christmas-song/2783184)
Christmas, for me, has always been a time full of activity with a crap load of people around and traditions to boot. When you grow up in a hometown full of all your extend family, you spend virtually no time alone. And when you're from a family like mine every holiday, but particularly Christmas, is focused on honoring as many traditions as humanly possible (me dressed as the Statue of Liberty on the Fourth of July is one I am happy was quickly lost).
The season typically commenced with the ceremonial decorating of the McDonough Christmas tree (which always seemed to end with the four of us not speaking to each other because we inevitably failed at some critical rule my father set). Then, there was assembling the creche to which I always sneakily added a couple of barbie dolls to the line of wise men (my father would laugh and my mother would give me the dreaded "eye").
Christmas tradition is serious business with the McDonough's. There was the cookie baking, light-hanging, Papa's soup on Christmas Eve, church, the big party on Christmas Day, uncle Homer's country breakfast, Meemaw's crab casserole and Uncle Harvey and his player piano. It was a lot to fit in (to say the least) but as a kid, I ate it up!
As the old guard died off and the new generation was born, we started our own traditions. Although I sometimes long for those times and miss the folks who have gone on to that crab feast in the sky, I like creating new traditions. We've introduced Blue Mountain Bourbon Beer, Charles Henry Gray ham (the Cadillac of hams as my dad calls it) and an annual viewing of National Lampoons Christmas Vacation on Christmas Eve. And of course, there's the joy of babies on Christmas morning with the addition of Maggie and Zoey!
But now that I'm certifiably an adult on my own, I've started my own tradition. The tree still goes up, the cookies still get made but I have a new tradition, one that is totally 100% mine and mine alone. After everyone, one by one, files off to bed, I turn off all the lights, poor a glass of whatever libation is lying around the house and sit in front of my decorated and lit tree. Sometimes I reminisce about those Christmases gone-by, sometimes I anticipate the holiday at hand and sometimes I just don't think about anything at all. I relax, enjoy the peace and fulfillment of that moment...with me...and only me (and maybe, sometimes Jesus, if he and I are on speaking terms that day).
So I raise my glass to family, friends and all kinds of fun traditions. But this Christmas, I raise my cheap wine glass (likely from some VA winery I visited) to my tradition...one that I will keep close to me no matter who comes and goes in the years to come!
So Merry Christmas to you, and just you, from your beloved single gal, Katie!
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