A Single Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve morning started with tidying my home in preparation for Christmas Day - a very wise move as my home is pretty messy after four long shifts. Once the tidying was done, a shopping trip downtown for ‘Santa Claus’ gifts was next on the agenda. Hunger drew me to the A&W in the mall for a hamburger before getting groceries for tomorrow’s Christmas Dinner. By 3:30, I was in a theatre with friends watching the movie Mary, Queen of Scots. Christmas Eve’s outing was complete with a supper of fish and chips at a local restaurant. A charming, efficient and entertaining waiter was an unexpected joy while he served us. There is more to this than just a few things to do.

Last week, I decided that this year I’d be Santa’s elf - just for me. I have some gifts to unwrap, a stocking stuffed with some little things. I’ll put an orange in the toe of the stocking just before I go to bed. I’ve never done this before with the excuse that ‘It’s just me and Christmas is for kids’. I hear that said far too many times from the many of us that are single. There are a variety of reasons that we may spend Christmas away from our families. I know I’ve felt sorry for myself many times. And pouted about no presents to open, no one to fill my stocking with treats but I would be brave (a martyr?) and just get through the Christmas times as though it were just another day.

It wasn’t just decorations and presents under the tree I missed, but the busyness of Christmas shopping, the excitement of wrapping gifts, the wonderful aromas of Christmas dinner and the whole ambience that we create for our families. When we were alone, there seemed to be a void that could not be filled. Today, I still cannot bring all my family here, and I can't get to my family. First it would be impossible as we are all scattered hither and yon with small or large families of our own. Secondly, my little home just wouldn’t accommodate everyone. I do however, have the wisdom of my memories that are always with me, whether joyful or sad. The joy always wins out over the sad.

“Christmas isn’t just a day. It’s a frame of mind.”

~ Valentine Davies, Miracle on 34th Street