Maybe you've heard this song, or maybe you haven't. Maybe you're familiar with the regular version, or maybe you're not. Regardless, I stumbled across the Christmas version while spending some time in Ohio and I couldn't even handle how much it put into words how I felt.
Especially this part:
I can close my eyes and see the angel on the tree,
A blanket of snow outside
And all my friends and family
And though I know that you're no farther than a call away
I need to see your face
A call could never be the same.
I know that I can talk to anyone in my life at anytime. Facebook, email, iMessage, MagicJack, etc all make this possible. Anyone I want to talk to is literally just a phone call away. But a phone call, or even a FaceTime, isn't the same as physically being with someone. I can't reach out and hug a person through my phone. A call could never be the same.
So I spent eight wonderful days actually visiting with some of the people who mean the most to me.
Did I want to go to Mongolian BBQ with my little, grandlittle, and BFFs? Absolutely.
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Did I want to give my best friend the biggest hug in the world because only seeing each other for 48 hours a years just doesn't cut it? Without a doubt.
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| Reunited and it felt so good. |
Did I want to spend some time at Headlands Beach with my Daddio while trying to not complain about how stinkin' cold it was? 100%.
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Did I want to be the only girl at a giant sausage fest and then be able to recreate this picture from 2007? For the most part.
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| Been friends with these goons longer than my students have been alive. |
Did I want to stuff my face full of bacon wrapped cocktail wieners? Um, is that even a question?
Did I want to smooch my mama under the mistletoe? Yepp.
Did I want to slide down the stairs while wearing matching sweatshirts with my sister? With my whole heart.
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| God knew exactly what He was doing when He gave me her as my sister. |
Did I want to take this family picture just like we have every year for the past 23 years? More than anything in the world.
And guess what? I actually got to do all of those things. I didn't have to want and wish, I could actually do. I didn't have to be the person missing family events or dinners with friends. I didn't have to by Skyped in to anything to be present. I ACTUALLY got to be present, I actually got to be there.
I could have been anywhere in the world. I didn't care, as long as I was with all of these people who love me and support me. Who so clearly pour into me and encourage me when I need it. Who I love with all my heart and don't have nearly enough opportunities to tell them so.
I could have been anywhere in the world, but I had the added bonus of being in this beautiful town.
As Blake Shelton and Michael Buble so eloquently stated "It'll all be alright when I'm holding you tight.
Cause this Christmas I'm home."
=)
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