Christmases Remembered

We're less than an hour away from Christmas day here in Knoxville, TN.  And at the speed I write, it will no doubt be Christmas by the time I finish.  (I was right.  It is now 2AM on Christmas morning.) It's been more than a year since we returned from Kosovo.  With the Christmas season in full swing, I find myself thinking about last year's Christmas, and still, Christmas in Kosovo two years ago.


When we moved in with Lindsey's parents in June 2011, we still had our bedroom set and rickety table and chairs from our first home.  Living room furniture, two antique style sideboard pieces for storage, a multi colored rug, and nursery furniture were all purchased from CraigsList.  Raleigh's crib came from one my mom's coworkers.  Custom wall shelving was created for dishes fashioned from old boards found atop the rafters in the garage, a borrowed fridge from my parents that may have been as old as me,  and other odds and ends from our first home had transformed two empty bedrooms and a large living area into a two bedroom apartment by Christmas.  The only new things I can remember buying were blinds, paint, a new door knob, outlet covers, and two fancy knobs that went on the pocket doors to the laundry area.  I really liked those knobs.  The walls of the living and kitchen area were completely painted with the exception of the bottom two inches which remained wood panel brown as I  intended replacing the brown plastic moulding I tore off.  I never did.  Our bedroom wasn't completed either.  Some sections of wall had primer and paint, some had only primer, and some areas had only been wiped down with a damp rag.  But hey, at least I had replaced all the outlet covers.  Raleigh's room was the only space that was fully completed, and our humble, three foot, artificial, Christmas tree sat just inside his door on the left.  In between setting up home for the third time in as many years and Christmas, Raleigh was born.  The iPhoto application on our computer has one photo in it from that Christmas.  It's a photo of me and my sister in front of my parent's Christmas tree.  Where the other photos are, if any, I have no clue.  The whole holiday was a blur of well...baby.  Somewhere there are photos of our visit to my grandparents that Christmas day.  They are the only solid proof that we made the trip as my recollection of the whole day is understandably very vague.

Christmas in Kosovo was easily the most unique holiday of my life to date.  The memories flash in my mind like the one spastic string of lights on every tree.  Some memories are captured forever in pictures which I've shared below.  Others I have the pleasure of unwrapping in my mind as long as I can remember them.  I'm going to write as many of them down as I can remember, and in no particular order...

There was evidence all over the town that Christmas was upon us.  There were lights on the more prominent businesses like banks and the local Ipko store.  ETC, our Walmart, had a huge wall of various decorations, pre-wrapped gifts, and artificial trees.  The even had shopping bags with Santa's face on them.  Never mind all the decorations were promoting New Years instead of Christmas.  Oh and the grocery bags with Santa's face on them?  The phrase, "Happy New Year" was written under his snowy white beard.  No matter.  In my mind, ProCredit Bank, Ipko, ETC, and all the others were decorated for Christmas...they just didn't know it.

You could even visit Santa just like kids do here in the states.  The set up in the center of town was the best.  Our Santa couldn't have weighed more than 150 pounds.  He probably wasn't much older than me, and he smelled of cigarettes and Turkish coffee.  Mrs Claus sported a pair of iridescent fairy wings.  Llamas had replaced the traditional reindeer and a Model T looking car was this Santa's vehicle of choice.  The only explanation for the clowns was that the elves must have been on strike.  I guess that explains the skinny Santa.  Everyone knows that clowns can't make toys.  The stress must have driven Santa to smoking and killed his appetite.

Perhaps my fondest memory was our little tree.  It was an artificial one shoved in a box in the top of the closet in our spare room.  It was maybe four feet tall.  There was no tree stand, but as you can see we made due.  There was no tree skirt either.  But we did have a rather shiny comforter that looked like a mound of snow glistening in the sunlight.  Most of the ornaments and all of the presents that were placed beneath had been lovingly wrapped, packed and shipped from the other side of the world.

There was one thing still missing...for me at least.  It couldn't be shipped because it was perishable.  I had accepted the fact that I would have to wait until we returned to America to enjoy it.  But one day Lindsey walked in one afternoon carrying IT.  IT being eggnog.  It was given to her by one of our colleagues, Pam.  I don't remember how she came across it.  I remember something about getting it through some contacts at the American army base.  It was in tall steel cans and I remember they were dented.  Apparently there's some sort of risk in eating/drinking food from dented cans.  I didn't care.  I had eggnog. Christmas was officially back on.  I drank two cans.

I received my first, and last pair of ski pants that year.  I say last because I attempted skiing not long thereafter and barely escaped with my life and my dignity.

I fought back tears when Kosovars wished me a Merry Christmas.  One instance I remember vividly was after a stop at the Banacol market.  Every American in our town knows this market.  Going there was as exciting as waking up Christmas morning as a child.  You never know what kind of special food items they'll have in stock.  They always had the rarest, most special items.  Tortilla chips, soy milk, cheddar cheese, oatmeal, American cereals, tahini for making homemade hummus.  One of the men working there said it with a big grin on his face as he handed me my change.  Thinking about it more now, it was the most special "Merry Christmas" I've heard in recent memory. I remember how wonderful I felt for just a moment.  It was as though he knew how I felt, and the way in which he said it touched my heart in just that spot.  I think all I managed was a confused and emotional, "Thank you"...and in English no less.

That brings us to Christmas 2012.  The world was supposed to end on the 21st according to the Mayans.  Wouldn't that have just been hilarious?  All the Black Friday mayhem, pretentious Christmas parties, endless hours of recital rehearsals could have all been for nothing.  My little family of three will spend it here in Knoxville.  Immediate family was kind enough to come our way in the weeks leading up to today bringing all the Christmas cheer they could fit in their respective Hondas.  Traditions will be written anew.  No more soda can tree stands and Santa wishing you a Happy New Year.  The elves and Santa must have reached an agreement.  The little guys in green are back and Santa's as fat as I remember.  And he doesn't smell like cigarette smoke, but he does smell like he's made a meal one too many times out of the Pepperidge Farm samples.

Three Christmases, three different locales.  Kosovo, North Carolina, Tennessee.  How deep our Tennessee traditions will become remains to be seen.  We're starting a rather unique one tomorrow.  It's in honor of one of our favorite Christmas movies, A Christmas Story.  No, we didn't buy Raleigh a Red  Ryder BB gun.  We're going out to eat...  We've been here a few times before.  The sweet Oriental lady that has taken care of us each time plays with Raleigh like he's her own.  Raleigh loves to stare at the goldfish in the pond near the entrance.  The fish come up to you and beg for food like a dog would.  It's hilarious.  We won't have freshly beheaded duck, but we will have one another, and the one constant from our last three Christmases in two countries and two states...Jesus Christ.  Oh and eggnog...can't forget eggnog.

Merry Christmas, everyone.  Especially to you and your family, Suad Murati.  We love and miss you all very very much.

Oh, and below are the photos I mentioned I would share.