Christmas is that time of year when families and friends traditionally gather together to celebrate the season. This year was the first year that I can remember that our family wasn't going to be together and we are all a little saddened. We tried to organize a way for us all to be together but now that our kids are adults with lives of their own and we no longer live in a house where they can gather, it just wasn't going to be. Even if we did live in Ontario, Karley is in no condition to fly, so this year Christmas is unusual for us.

On Christmas Day, I have always been awake early and today was no different. It was 4:00 AM and I felt like I had already had eight hours sleep so I got up even though there were no stockings and no gifts under a tree. Perhaps I was awake because I was hoping to receive a call from Karley or Ian to say that the baby was on the way or perhaps it was just an old habit but at any rate I was wide awake. As the time slowly ticked by, I thought about how different Christmas was this year and I wondered how the rest of our family was doing. At 6:45, the phone rang and one by one, we spoke to each child and we called our siblings and our mothers to extend our greetings.

We spent the afternoon with Karley and Ian at their house and were later joined by Ian's sister Morag and her husband Andy from Canmore, Alberta. Rather than eating a large meal, we nibbled on small munchies and Christmas treats and we went for a walk on The Drive. Today is baby's due date but baby seems to be in no hurry to arrive and we have little option but to wait. It was a quiet day for us today, unlike our Christmas Day's of the past and for the first time since we left Ontario, we are missing it; not the province or the weather, but our family and our friends. If there had been no baby, Rick and I had planned to be in Mexico, a destination that would have been more enticing for our offspring to join us in so maybe next year we will all be together again. And for now, we extend a Very Merry Christmas to All!