Wednesday 24 December 2014

And so this is Christmas

This is either a huge pile of pressies or a very small tree.*
This is going to be a different sort of Christmas.

I have my own tree, my own lights; my own stack of presents in the corner of my own living room, in my own house. In a few hours, my own family will be joining me here. We'll be spending the evening here and in the morning opening our presents here, in my own house.

That's a big thing. My whole life, Christmas has been spent in someone else's home, usually my parents' and more recently with Hannah's parents. We will be seeing both sets, my parents later on Christmas Day and Hannah's on Boxing Day, but we're starting the day with eggs and presents in my home, with Hannah here and Andrew, and of course Arya.

Not so long ago, I'd pretty much given up on the idea of having a family. Arya has been a life-changer for me, and Hannah little less so. This isn't Arya's first Christmas, but that was spent at Hannah's parents and, while a good time, wasn't ours in the way that this year is looking to be. In a lot of ways, this is going to be my first grown-up Christmas, and I'm looking forward to it.

The full plan is that once Arya is in bed, we will chill, play board games and eat baked Camembert. In the morning we will open presents, and have eggs Benedict with ham I am cooking today and eggs royale with salmon Hannah cured at the weekend. Hannah and Andrew will have a glass of prosecco and Arya and I will have orange juice. Later, we will drive to Norfolk and have Christmas dinner with my parents, with more presents.

On Boxing Day morning, we'll head north to Leeds for a couple of days with Hannah's family, before coming back to Martlesham. Not sure where the new year is going to be spent, but I'm hoping to be back here for my birthday on the 4th.

* It's a very small tree.

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