Another Christmas come and gone. Gordon and I spent it in gloriously relaxed and unstressed fashion. Instead of rushing into tearing open presents we leisurely drank coffee, read the paper (at least Gordon did) and watched the news. Then we made breakfast of biscuits, gravy and turkey sausage. Only then did we put on some Christmas music, inserted our DVD of a roaring fireplace (when you don't have one in your house you make do) and began opening our presents.
And while that was a lot of fun, and I'm so thankful for the wonderful and very generous gifts that Gordon gave me, it was the in between moments that I loved: Sitting on our comfy couch, our living room lit by the lights of the Christmas tree, the pile of torn wrapping paper piling up and every once in a while a tiny squeak from our dogs playing with their new dog toys. Being in the comfort of our own home, with each others' company (which I love more and more as each day passes) made it feel like a wonderful Christmas. And I felt very lucky.
But today is the day after Christmas. And I can't help but think of home. Because back home today would be known as Boxing Day (http://www.factmonster.com/spot/boxingday1.html), but here it is simply The Day After Christmas. As the years go by I am becoming more and more aware of the holidays (Victoria Day and Remembrance Day), words (toque, the letter "u" in colour, neighbour and humour), shops (Zellers and The Bay), expressions ("a hoser", "eh") and food (timbits, poutine) with which I grew up, and get an eyebrow raised when I mention them here (and all show up as errors when I spellcheck).
I can't help but feel a little nostalgic and a little sentimental. While I love it in Nashville (and I really can't say that enough), and it's become home, I can't help but think of those things once in a while. It's during those sentimental and nostalgic times that I realize how much I loved those little things and do miss them every once in a while.
So for now I'll think about Tim Horton's doughnuts, remember episodes of The Littlest Hobo while eating my biscuits & gravy and listening to WSM. Know that I'll have a smile on my face because, truly, I have the best of both worlds.