Getting asked this question is never easy, and most of the time I have no idea what to say anyways. How does it feel to live so far away from your family and friends during the holidays. For me it's just our way of life. It's something that I've had to deal with for a while now, and you just get use to it. The independent person in me likes to say that I like my privacy, and love the freedom of being able to do Christmas my own way, and that is partly right. Every now and then though the feeling creeps up on me, the feeling of why can't I be there with them, and the feeling of that not being fair. I have learned a long time ago that life isn't fair. So how do I deal with that feeling, of missing friends and family that live thousands of miles away?
When my grandfather was in the hospital, and my family was sure he wasn't going to live much longer, my dad said something to me that I have never forgotten. He told me that even though poppop wouldn't be with us anymore, we would still have all of our fond memories of him, and that when we missed him we could just think of one of them, and it would be like he was still here. I was 15 when he died and this really helped. I had a lot of great moments with him, he is still to this day one of my most favorite people (and I have meet a lot of people). So I still use that technique, and just relive some of my favorite memories with some of my favorite people.
like...
-My little sister coming to visit me in San Diego
-Jessica and I eating oranges and watching the Mythbusters
-Talking with Sarah in her kitchen watching her make cinnamon raisin bread
-Baking cookies with my Grandmother
-Working on my old VW with my dad
-Flying home, and surprising my Mother
-Playing Phase 10 with my brother and his wonderful wife
-Staying up way past bed time, and talking with my older sister
-Walking my kids to school with our neighbor Courtney tagging along
-Putting highlights in Dawn and Becky's hair
-Tricking Jessica into picking out her own birthday present
-Arriving in BWI to my dad alive and well after recovering from his accident
-Kandi and Amanda showing up at the hospital offering to take care of Darien and Nathaniel, so I could stay there with Zach
... the list could go on and on.
That's what I do. I makes me feel extremely blessed to have such wonderful memories. Now I know a lot of you may not be fan of the twilight series, but in the prologue of the first book, there is a quote that is just one of my favorite quotes
"When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it's not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end."
I really do feel like God has really blessed me with a lot of great experiences even if they didn't last as long as I wanted them to. I like to think about this every time I feel upset about where I am, and how much I wish I could live in my favorite city, instead of here (I know, I really shouldn't say that).
I really hope this helps anyone who is maybe missing someone this season (or any season). Don't forget to count your blessings.
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