A First Christmas

Tomorrow I will celebrate my first Christmas with my natural mom and family. We’ll Skype, open presents, and enjoy being active in each other’s lives for the first time in 37 years. I don’t know everything that our moments together will hold, but I am excited to have this first Christmas together.

I wish all kids could have an appreciation for “a first Christmas.” If you think about it, parents are typically the only ones who “get” that experience. Yes, the kids are there, but they are usually too small to understand the significance of what’s happening. They see the pretty packages and flashing lights on the trees, and open the cool toys (only to play with the empty boxes), but they can’t yet understand just how important it is to be with family – to be in a place where you belong and where your identity is validated.

Now that I’ve written these paragraphs, I wonder just how many adults understand what I’m writing about as well. I think for many of us our depth of understanding comes after we lose the people we love the most. It’s then we reflect on the memories of our times together and find great joy in those moments – only to have them quickly fade into a sorrow that acknowledges we will not re-capture those moments on this earth.

I’m experiencing a first Christmas tomorrow with my natural family and I think I’ll look at my time with my adoptive family through that same lens.

Merry Christmas!
Becky