A Happy International Holiday,

To me, Christmas means family and warmth and love. Today I am away from my home country on this very special day for the first time in my life. However, in my world’s own unique way, I was still blessed with all three of those wonderful things.

I think family can mean a multitude of things, and today my friends became my family. My blonde Canadian sisters and the extended connections I’ve made around town. The beautiful, heartfelt messages I received from each significant Aussie I’ve ever met here, they came pouring in to remind me that even when blood relatives are hundreds of thousands of miles away, that feeling of family can come to you in many different ways. I am so incredibly grateful for the facetimes and the Skypes I’ve already had with my parents and my sister back home, but I am also wildly content with my perfect little family here.

This Christmas I felt warmth in an entirely different way than ever before! Instead of warm apple cider rum with cinnamon in mom’s living room, or the toasty ambers of dad’s fireplace, today was hot, deep, gorgeous summer sun soaking right into my skin on a flawless morning trip to the beach. Today was warm, salty ocean waves splashing over my sandy limbs, penetrating, radiating right down to my core. Even now, as the clouds have rolled over & the sky is rumbling deep, the evening is still sultry. Few things beat the feeling of walking barefoot in a summer shower. Warm pavement, bath water under your feet. Everything is smooth, everything is soft, with no umbrella, it is felt deep down to my bones. Happy, smiley bones.

All of this, in combination with an incredible home cooked meal, conversations in laughter and celebration, Champaign cheers & old Nat King Cole, makes me feel love. Every single kind of love: love in gratitude, love in recognition, love in peace and remembrance, love in freedom, love in possibility and opportunity, love in wonder, love in how-did-I-get-so-lucky? I feel long-distance love, from the orient, from my native land, from all of the countries in the world I have lived and met people to share some kind of love with. I feel love in myself, for getting myself here to this happiest life possible for me. And for every single soul that helped me to be this incredibly happy, even when I am way over here for this special holiday. I love being here.

There was no snow, there were no presents to unwrap, there was no wifesavers breakfast, or little ClayBoy with his Christmas bell collar. There was no candy cane ice cream or sunshine walk through the winter wonderland that is the speed river trail. There was no Hanson Snowed In, and there were no magical moments with my beautiful nephew on his very first Christmas Day. But there was family, and there was warmth, and there was love.

It is all I need :)

xo,

Merry Everything and Happy Always