Just a number, right?!

It's that time of year again... the holidays are upon us and there is much to do and so little time to do it. This year feels unique...it is the first year that holidays are not just about decorating the house and putting up the tree, baking cookies, shopping trips for perfect gifts, and planning get-togethers with family and friends. This year, the holidays are also about sharing...sharing O. It sounds horrible to even say it, let alone talk about what it means, but the reality is that part of accepting my new life is learning to also accept that I won't always see O for every holiday.

O's holidays are planned...for the next three years. There is an actual schedule on which it is very specific who she will be with, when, and for how long. This year, she spends Thanksgiving with me. The trade-off (you can see this coming, right) is that she will not spend Christmas Eve or Christmas Day with me... she'll spend those with me NEXT year. In an effort to make the most of the situation such that it is, I decided to take the entire week of Thanksgiving off and spend it with O and my sister's family, in Boston. An entire week where I have the girl all to myself...complete with taking her on her very first ride on a big airplane.

So while this week means so much to me and I am determined to make the most of every minute, it also has me thinking...about what I will be missing at Christmas. And perhaps, most importantly, it has me contemplating the holidays in a different way. After all, when it gets right down to it, the 24th and 25th are just numbers on the calendar, aren't they?! Christmas can be celebrated on any day of the week...and let's face it, when you are three years old (or maybe even when you are thirty-three), you are perfectly content to celebrate Christmas EVERY day of the week.

So this holiday season I am determined to continue with all of the traditions like every other year...and maybe add a couple of new ones. Like celebrating the meaning of Christmas throughout the month, and making the most of the times I have with family and good friends. And O and I will have our Christmas... it just may not be until New Year's Eve.