It’s beginning to look absolutely nothing like Christmas (week 13)

Welcome to December—the weirdest, wildest one yet. Today marks exactly three months since we left our home in De Pere, and it will be another month before we get to rest our heads in our own beds. But as I’m sitting here, sipping my coffee and gazing out over the ocean, I’m finding it really hard to be upset about that fact!

Tony was asked to present at a real estate conference this week in Tampa, hosted by our good friends (and my cruise ship “sister”) Carrie and Corey Reyment. So on Wednesday, he and I flew to Florida and are sharing a beach condo with two other couples. While all the real estate folks are in conference, I get to relax and read my book by the ocean. The girls stayed in Beaufort and are having the time of their lives at Zac and Tammy’s place. So overall, I must say it’s been a pretty wonderful week.

Even though we are listening to Christmas music and there are decorations everywhere, it hardly feels like the holidays. That’s probably because it was in the 70s and sunny yesterday; it’s really hard to think about hot cocoa and mistletoe when your toes are in the sand! In about a week, we’ll be checking out of our Beaufort bungalow and driving back down to this area. We’ll park our van at the home of our dearly loved friend Christy Weber, who actually lives not far from here and was generous enough to lend us some space in her garage!

Our flight on Dec. 13 will bring us back to snowy Wisconsin, though everyone down here thinks we are crazy to go back to the cold. Only for about five seconds did we consider not flying home. This year has been unprecedented in the bizarre ways we’ve had to celebrate holidays. At least we’ll give the girls a bit of normalcy and tradition by having Christmas with Tony’s parents in Iron Mountain as usual. I only pray that winter will be kind to us and allow for a gentle re-acclimation and safe travels!!

Speaking of holidays, our Southern Thanksgiving dinner was a winner. Nobody was too crazy about the cornbread stuffing, but the hushpuppies with homemade cinnamon honey butter were a huge hit. So was the baked mac n cheese, which is as much of a Thanksgiving staple down here as mashed potatoes. Now I know why—and we probably will never celebrate another Thanksgiving dinner without it!

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There are so many components of this pandemic that I don’t understand: whom it affects and how. All the partisan politics. Why some businesses and schools choose or are allowed to stay open while others must close—many permanently. The mental anguish, the pain and suffering. As a Christian who believes in a loving, benevolent God, I struggle to make sense of these events, even as I understand that life needs to be lived forward and can only be understood upon reflection. I was having a tough time processing all the COVID stuff, until our Thanksgiving dinner when we sat down to pray as a family of six, and a wave of calm washed over me that is almost difficult to put into words. It was like all the closings and canceled plans of the entire year for us were just part of an elaborate, messed-up road map to bring our family to that holiday table. I get tears in my eyes just thinking about it. Whatever the rest of 2020 and all of next year has in store for us, at least I can reflect back upon that one perfect, peaceful moment. I pray your holiday season will also bring moments of great joy and peace.

Even though it doesn’t yet feel like the holidays, the girls and I found time to do some Black Friday shopping in Beaufort at the stores on Bay Street. (I know it’s important to shop local, but oh my is it tempting to let Amazon ship everything to Iron Mountain for me!) The days leading up to Christmas, always a festive blur, are going to go by even more quickly this year. Part of me feels like I need to get organized and get my act together. A bigger part of me is thinking about another cup of coffee and a stroll on the beach.

I absolutely LOVE reading all your comments on my blog—keep them coming! Although we won’t get to see all of you over the holidays, know that each and every one of you holds a place in our hearts. We feel blessed to have so much love and support from so many wonderful people!!