Five Christmases ago, I spent December 22nd panicking about what to get Christopher for Christmas. What do you get someone you've only been dating for six months but are also pretty sure you're in love with? I turned to my dad, who is the gift guru:
"You can't go wrong with sentimental. Pictures, a scrapbook, something like that."
"Um, is six months too soon for a scrapbook?"
"Nope. He'll love it."
"Mmm, is it going to scare him away if I literally hand him a book of our relationship and he gets me movie tickets?"
"Chelsea, stop talking and make a scrapbook."
So I did. And it is to this day one of my most treasured belongings, because we have the earliest moments of our relationship recorded, and I have the sweet memory of being terrified to give it to him on December 23rd, when we celebrated Christmas together.
Four Christmases ago, I was absolutely in love, but there was no ring on my finger. There were no plans, only dreams in my heart. I made up a scavenger hunt and we spent December 23rd driving around our hometown, taking pictures and exchanging gifts and kisses.
Three Christmases ago, December 23rd brought me the best surprise of my life in the form of Christopher down on one knee and a promise of forever. Each time I opened a gift on Christmas morning, seeing the shiny diamond on my ring finger overwhelmed me with happiness and thankfulness.
Two Christmases ago, I was a little preoccupied, because I was getting married four days later. We had decreed it would be a day of no wedding talk so that everyone could really enjoy Christmas, but my mom and I exchanged glances all day.."Oh, you KNOW what's coming."
Last Christmas, I had one of the best days of my life. For the first time, I woke up on Christmas morning in the same bed as the love of my life. Opening presents and snuggling with our tiny little fox, and then visiting my family with my new little family...my heart had never been so full.
This Christmas, my heart is even more full than it was last year. Every Christmas song I hear, every peppermint mocha I drink, every time I plug our tree in, I'm overwhelmed with thankfulness that this is my life. The good and the bad, the sweet and the hard, it's mine. And as I celebrate this year, in a tiny apartment in the sky, with my best friend and our tiny little fox, I'm so full of joy. "Um, I think that I might love you" five Christmases ago has brought me such an incredibly full life, and Christmas just serves as a reminder of that.
I adore Christmas. Everything about it. But I especially adore who I get to spend it with.
Does Christmastime make you sentimental?
