Merry Christmas

It's nearly 11:30pm on Christmas Eve here, just north of London and Santa should be arriving any minute now. The girls are all tucked in their beds fast asleep awaiting the arrival of Father Christmas. The mince pies have been made, milk poured, reindeer dust scattered and stockings hung all in hopes that Santa will not forget to stop at 62 Windsor Rd. Santa, please don't disappoint. 


I sat in a tiny church tonight surrounded by people I have met in the four months I've been here in Pitstone, parents and teachers from school, classmates and friends, kids I've babysat. The usual carols were being sung and the nativity was set. I had a little girl on my lap and one on each side and thought, how lucky am I. As cliche as it may sound, I realized what I love about this place isn't the place really, but the people here who have made this my home. What I have really noticed here in this tight knit community is that friends truly are family and that I, even for a short time, was a part of it. 


To be away from friends and family during Christmas isn't easy and there have been times when I wished I'd gone home for a bit. But tonight as the girls were allowed to open one present each from me/my mom I quickly realized that I was exactly where I should be. The pure joy in opening up something as simple as an ornament or a lip gloss, quickly followed by many thank you's and kisses is something you can only get from a child. 


Tomorrow will be a different kind of Christmas, that's for sure. But I couldn't think of a better way to spend my last week with them then to share in something as special as Christmas. This will surely be a Christmas I'll never forget.


And for those of you reading this today, tomorrow or whenever, thank you for thinking of me during the holidays. To be so far away and know that people are still thinking of me is something special and I really couldn't put into writing how much I really do appreciate it. So to everybody near and far, well maybe just far, I hope you have a Merry Christmas! I'm lucky to have all of you to miss!