This was the first year I didn't write my list for Santa. Not because I wasn't into the whole Christmas thing, but there was nothing I wanted... I didn't feel like making my parents go out and buy me things I didn't need, wouldn't use, and really couldn't afford. These days who has the money to waste?
Christmas morning was the first time I didn't wake my brothers up in the small hours of the morning to go downstairs to discover what Santa may have brought... but was in fact awoken at 6:30 by them... I wanted to go back to sleep... but I got up for their sakes... On our way down, Mylo bypassed my Dad, so for the first time it wasn't Dad who "Checked to make sure Santa actually came" which was weird... the end of an era I thought...
Of course, even though I hadn't asked for anything, I still got presents, and I must admit I was surprised. It was the first time I had gotten really girly presents for Christmas. Last year, it probably would have bothered me, but it didn't. 2009 must have been my year for growing up, eh?
After present time, we didn't call... Every Christmas after we'd woken up... (excuse me while I get a bit tearie-eyed here), usually we would call our Auntie Mar-Mar. We'd try get up earlier to catch her out sometimes, but she was always up awaiting our call... We would tell her all about our presents, exchange Christmas wishes, and tell her how much we looked forward to seeing her later that day... but this year there was no call... our first year without her TO call... It really left quite a considerable hole in the morning, one I didn't know how to fill... so in true teenage fashion, for the first Christmas ever, I went back to bed for a few hours.
We left the house late on our trip to Dublin. We usually left earlier so we could visit Mar-Mars house. Every Christmas morning it was a hub of activity! She'd have barrels of whatever your poison was. The men sat around the kitchen table exchanging small talk, while the women and children sat in the comfort of the sitting room, kids running in and out of the parlour. It was the place where you could see all of those relations you only see once a year and they'd brag about all of the things their children did that year, about what they'd bought, and you'd sit there pretending to care... All the while Mar-Mar would potter about, avoiding listening to any of that banter and occasionally winking at me as if to say "haha, I don't have to listen to that any more, they think I'm an aul wan!" But we didn't have that this year...
At 2-ish we arrived at my nans, dinner time, yum! She always makes the best spread, and always has something different for me and her! (She's used my becoming a vegetarian as an excuse to give herself and myself better food than everyone else =P). One thing was to be different this year for dinner. Y'see... every year for Christmas Auntie M. always made a trifle for my Grandad for dessert. A small gesture you'd think... but just before Christmas he told my Nan it would be his first Christmas without... without a trifle AND without her. I knew how much something small like that would mean to him. And so, being the little treasure I am, arrived on Christmas and presented him with my very own trifle! "Oh wow, big deal?" I can hear you say, but in a tough year, with all the problems my family has faced, I could see this one small gesture made it all better for him. He seemed finally... happy? Happy that someone had thought to continue at least one of her traditions, keep her alive in that way...
My Auntie Maura was awesome. There is no other word to describe her, but awesome. And her loss left a big hole, especially in Christmas. But they say with every loss there's a gain and at 9pm that night we met our gain for the first time. Baby Amy Margaret, the first girl Grandchild born since myself. The most adorable bundle, with the reddest, crankiest face I have ever seen, but adorable nonetheless. My new competition for attention haha.. But with her I didn't just gain one cousin, because although this is my Uncle Paddys first kidlet, it's not Mary-Claires. We gained a whole new family!
It's not the best picture, I'll be the first to admit. But I love it. The new trinity of the Tyrrell clan, Robyn, me and Amy. The Girls, or as Robyn said to me, the new bestest cousins!
So for a day that began lacking in hope or expectation, it ended with plenty! While we may not have had the same traditions, we may not have had Mar-Mar to share it with, we got something new. We began new traditions. We gained more family. We got to give the day that's been the same for years before I was even born a bit of a revamp. And sure *cheesy line* we know Mar-Mar was obviously there with us in spirit!
