I used to hate the holidays because of all the expectations that were placed on me… I used to hate going to my grandmothers only for everyone to watch TV in silence, having to stay in places that I had trouble breathing in because of the smoke…

There are still many things I hate about the holidays… the crowds, the rush… and even all of the religious stuff and debates about political correctness in a multi-cultural setting like Montreal when it comes to the traditions of the holiday season…

But in the last few years we have been making the holidays more of our own and this year we are getting pretty excited about it… we are celebrating alone… Simon, the kids and I… we will see Simon’s family on the 26th and we will have a simple supper with not too much preparation… The eve and the day of x-mas will be spent alone… something that we are cherishing…

Simon has been on vacation since Thursday and on that day we went out to the homeschooling group’s x-mas party at an indoor playground…and that was a lot of fun… the boys enjoyed their time there and then we went out for supper afterwards.. and though Simon will have to work 2 days  in the week of the new year, he will be home until the 4th…which means that I am getting some vacation time also…

So now, we have been getting into the spirit of x-mas…I did the groceries yesterday and we should be good for a while… Today we are having a turkey and the next days will be meals with leftovers and I just made a batch of eggnog and we have been  listening to music, watching the classics with the kids and staying snuggled inside because of the -20 to -30 (with windchill) cold that we are having…

The holidays are now becoming our own… and we are feeling it…