If We Make It Through December

The song "If We Make It Through December" has come to be one of my favorite holiday songs. If you've never heard it, Holly Cole does a great rendition of a Merle Haggard original. Justin and I found this little gem on a Christmas CD from Brookstone before we were married. Over the years, it has come to mean a lot to me.

The first year that we were married, I played this song constantly. We were married on December 2, 2005 (a dear friend's birthday!). When we were first married, we still lived in College Station, and immediately after Christmas, Justin began traveling too frequently with work. It was a hard time in our lives, so I kept saying that if we made it through December (which stretched into February), then "everything will be alright, I know." We made it through that December, and our new marriage was stronger because of it. Some of you know that the first 8 weeks we were married, Justin was gone for 6 of them. It was stressful, but I have never felt more joy in my heart than the moment he stepped off of the plane on the long trip back from Turkey. It was on that trip that his company went completely under, and we made the decision to look outside of College Station for work. I know that it was small beans compared to what most couples go through, but I look at it as such a growing time. I remember crying so obnoxiously when he called me to tell me that he wasn't coming home just two days before his original planned arrival. I thought the world would stop spinning (now, I'd think of it as more veg-out time for me!). It didn't, and his arrival 1-2 weeks later was even better.

So this week, we've been married 5 years. We made it through 5 Decembers, and here we are in our 6th. Christmas has the potential to be a nightmare for us with all of the traveling and splitting time between my 2 families and his 1; however, despite it all, it's our favorite time of year. This year, an added dimension - graduation the weekend before Christmas. Starting well before December, we start making plans for seeing the family. We talk about what we'll do together, we plan out every meal, and we discuss the traditions we love the most. Mine: Chesley ringing jingle bells on Christmas morning (despite us all being in our late 20's-late 30's) while he and Mom blare The Oakridge Boys' Christmas album (per our request and an upgrade from the old record), Christmas Eve with Dad's side of the family and catching up with everyone over turkey and some of the loudest laughter you'll ever hear, and going and finding the perfect Christmas tree, decorating it and the house while we watch Elf, and playing Christmas music when it's over.

Yes, it's hard to keep our minds on the fact that Santa is not the reason for the season and neither are the presents, but for me it's not about either. It's about making the 5-hour trek up to Granbury, and then over to Palestine. It's about seeing our family, and how big our nieces, nephews, and cousins' babies have gotten. It's about seeing what shenanigans Chesley will be up to this year. It's about walking through Dad's house and immediately feeling like I'm in a winter wonderland. It's about knowing that "Jesus was born today, born in a manger", and because of it, I can make it through December.