Festive fun and merry making

firstly, before I go on about how amazing my Christmas has been, I just want to thank you all for your notes on my previous couple of entries. it’s safe to say work has been emotionally challenging, and the nights have been physically draining, and to hear you all share your stories of your experiences of good nursing, is amazing, and a complete motivation. so thankyou, and I hope you’ve all had a wonderful holiday!

now, Christmas 2013! it’s safe to say it’s been incredible. I think this holiday season, something clicked and john and I feel like a proper stable couple. we’ve been involved in lots of family things, with both our families, and we were lying in bed on sunday night, cuddled up together, and it just hit me that this is it, this is what my life is now, and it’s amazing. we have passion, comfort, excitement, trust, security, and all those things that we’ve both been looking for but have never managed to quite find.

I spent christmas eve afternoon visiting my friend and the little ones, where grace opened her presents, alfie’s presents, and then helped me open my presents from her and alfie, bless her! i also managed a quick visit to john’s uncle ted’s, to see him and his family. then….. work.

the magic most definitely began at midnight on Christmas eve when john rocked up to work with those flowers for me. I smiled all night, and came home smiling too! opened presents and had breakfast with my family, then went to bed for a couple of hours in my new Christmas pyjamas! I woke up to the smell of lunch cooking, and glasses clinking – my parents and sister were home, along with my grandparents. cue more present opening, prosecco, photos and a gorgeous Christmas lunch which is exactly what I needed.
john came round in the evening, and there was more present swapping and sharing drinks with the family. I love that my family have accepted john into the fold, and his family is exactly the same with me. if there’s an occasion, i’m invited and vice versa, and it’s thought of as strange if we don’t go rather than if we do. we exchanged our gifts alone, a watch for him, that I had agonised over, and a coat for me, that was a marks and spencer limited edition, and which we had stalked online and in store for weeks to try to get one! it’s a beautiful blush pink colour, and needless to say i’m terrified to wear it anywhere in case I get it dirty!

boxing day was the annual pub lunch, an awkward occasion, where my uncle, aunt, cousin, and aunt’s mum sit down one end of the table, we sit the other, with my grandparents in the middle, and eat lunch. we have a wonderful time, they seem to have a miserable time, it’s horribly awkward and looks like they’re a separate family plonked on the end of our table. we constantly question how long we’ll have to carry on with the charade, and honestly, we think until my grandparents are no longer with us. my dad loves it, he’s like all my family are together and it’s great, however he only talks to half the table, and I think if we did boxing day lunch with just the immediate family, he’d be just as happy!
it’s been lovely just having john off work, being able to spend some proper time together, walking the dogs on the beach, drinking wine, cuddling, chatting about anything and everything. we’re in such a good place right now.

sunday night i managed to finally catch up with the girls, we went to my friend’s house for pizza, and to play with the little ones. inevitably, grace kept us all entertained! then on to ted’s for his annual post Christmas shindig. he lost his wife in February this year, and i think it was important for him to carry on the tradition. he struggled a bit, but he was bound to i’m sure. it must be strange doing something alone, when for thirty years you’ve had your wife at your side. maybe next year he’ll begin his own traditions.

and so to bed, and the realisation that things are amazing, and settled, and grown up. or as john said, we’re family now.

tonight, new year, john and i get to eat thai food with a group of friends then head to a pub for drinks and probably some terrible dancing. to be honest, as long as i get to kiss him at midnight, i couldn’t care less what we’re doing. new year has never been an especially happy time for me, it’s always been a disaster, either i’m single and everyone else is coupled up and it’s grim, or i’m with someone who inevitably would rather be somewhere else with some other friends.

so here’s to a happy new year, and wonderful 2014, shared with good friends and family.
xx