This year will mark my very first year spending Christmas away from my family and friends in Canada. This time of year always makes me sentimental for the traditions of the holiday season. This year, with the distance between here and there, home and away, I cannot help but feel especially nostalgic for Christmas.
I will miss attending Midnight Mass with my parents on Christmas Eve, singing carols at my church, eating ridiculous amounts of my mom’s chocolate chip cookies, and going shopping with her on Boxing Day. I will miss my Aunty Padma’s ding-a-ling cake – a chocolate cake that is absolutely out of this world! I will miss my dad dressing up as “Brown Santa” for the children at our church and singing the East Indian rendition of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. I will miss hanging out with my high school crew in our traditional holiday get-together in Regina where we laugh ourselves silly about absolutely nothing! I will especially miss singing happy birthday to my dad who happens to be a Christmas baby, being born back in the day on December 25. [Happy early birthday Dad!]
However, with the Christmas season, its related celebration and all of the things I will definitely miss, I cannot help but be grateful for the blessings of this past year too, the gifts of this very moment, and the unlimited promise of the New Year and beyond. First of all, I am grateful to be in Addis - to work, to explore and to learn each and every day from so many people and situations (I am even grateful for the days when I am ready to pull my hair out and hop on the first plane back to Canada). I am grateful to have a roof over my head and food on the table - things which I have often taken for granted and things which have become all the more meaningful and precious to me given what I have witnessed in Ethiopia. I am grateful to the children at Menagesha who inspire me by their example and encourage me to reach for the stars. I am grateful to my friends in Tanzania with whom I will be spending the holidays (starting December 19 – Yay!) and to my roommates in Addis who have made the Christmas season so enjoyable so far. Finally, I am grateful for the love and support of my family and friends around the world – you never let the distance be a barrier to letting me know how much you care and I cannot thank you enough.
I just wanted to send out this note to all of you, near and far, wishing you a very Merry Christmas! Make sure to eat lots of Christmas baking for me and if anyone tells you that you are eating too much, tell them that you are eating Prasanna’s share on his behalf.
I am proud to know each and every one of you and incredibly, incredibly grateful for your love, compassion, friendship, and generousity. You have touched my life in many ways and I wish you all the joy, love and laughter that this season brings – today, tomorrow and always. Happy holidays!
