I never thought Christmas would be one of the hardest days of the year for me. A day that always brings joy, laughter, love, cheer, excitement, snow, family, friends, music, and food today it brings tears and grief. This seemed like an extra special Christmas to miss because it’s the first Christmas without my grandma and all my siblings and their spouses and kids were there. I was the only one not there. You never know how blessed you are until you experience a time without all those blessings around you. Blessings come in all shapes and sizes and this year my blessings look like my WR team, Vietnam, an Airbnb apartment and a simple Christmas dinner.  I’m over 8,000 miles away from home and family and yet the Miracle of Christmas is the same here as it is there. The celebration looks completely different but the truth is the same. 

Christmas is simple.

Christmas is beautiful.

Christmas is joy.

Christmas is a baby. 

This year, I get to celebrate Christmas without all the distractions of the fluff of Christmas. Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE all the fluff of Christmas and I already can’t wait to start listening to Christmas music in October, looking at lights, decorating the tree, making a bazillion Christmas cookies and desserts and buying my family presents. But this year is sweet in that I’m able to celebrate Christmas in the simple adoration of the birth of my Lord and Savior. Because even when I don’t feel it, the reason for this special season never changes. Our circumstances and surroundings may change but the beauty and simplicity of Christmas never does. Even in my tears of missing spending Christmas with my family this year, I know it will make Christmas next year all the merrier. And besides, for the rest of my life now I’ll be able to tell everyone I spent Christmas 2019 in Nam! 

I’m not going to lie and I’m not going to sugar coat it, Christmas was really hard for me this year. Even harder than I thought, but it did have some sweet memorable moments. Christmas Day this year was waking up at 6am and sitting in the hallway of our apartment to FaceTime my family on their Christmas Eve to be apart of watching the grandkids open their presents. My Christmas breakfast included Christmas music, oranges, eggs, bacon and coffee. An afternoon of more Christmas music, facial sugar scrub, no bake cookies (that taste more like butter than cocoa) watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Christmas List, naps, blogging, and card games. My team and I finished the evening with a homemade dinner of mashed potatoes, green beans, chicken and bread with real butter. For dessert we had a vanilla cake that Jeff bought at a bakery. After dessert we played dirty Santa with gifts wrapped in toilet paper. I ended the evening FaceTimeing my family again as they were all just arriving for Christmas Day breakfast. It’s strange that I FaceTimed them twice in the same day for me but for them it was two days. 

While the World Race may have stolen all my Christmas traditions I’ve treasured for the last 24 years, it didn’t steal my awe of my Savior’s love for me who came as a baby to die to give me the best gift of all—eternal life. I hope for everyone who checked off another traditional Christmas from their calendar experienced the same awe of Jesus’ birth as I did.