Image Copyright: Candice Tootell
This will be our 6th Christmas that we spend in Ireland, but every year, when we set up our tree and the decorations go up, my mind wonders back to that first Christmas we had in Ireland. Like for so many of you, we also had this crazy up and down between excitement, joy, sadness and missing everyone else.
When we got off the plane (well, out of. We are brave, not stupid, and getting ON the plane was never an option), on that 1st of December in 2015, we stepped into the middle of a storm. We hit the ground running and thinking back now, it did help a lot to take the focus off the fact that it would be our first Christmas without the family we always had around. We knew no one. We had no idea what amount of deposit we would need for everything and when my husband would find employment. Add to this that we were converting everything we saw from € to rands and that made even the cheapest gifts seem expensive.
We were fortunate to find a week by week rental very soon after we arrived, but it was TIIIIIII-NYYY. We were determined though to make it the best Christmas ever for our children and it was important that they did not feel our sadness at missing everyone.
We bought the tree and in retrospect very sparingly decorated it. We bought the gifts and hid them in the empty suit cases.
It took us no time to be overwhelmed by the beauty of Christmas in Ireland and even today still have to laugh when we see all the garden decorations and house decorations and trees outside the shops and streets that are decorated to the max. It's magical and you can't help but get swept up in the excitement. Christmas here is a BIG deal.
We probably still say the following to often: "I wonder how long those lights would be up in SA before they are stolen".
The fact that no one does steal it has ever so steadily become reality, and we now also have decorations outside, and no one steals it!
But, even the magic was tinged with an intense missing of the traditions and people we knew.
One of the big things that we are very aware of when we leave South Africa is how we will miss out on those big family Christmas feasts. The people around the table and who is making the turkey. There are things about Christmas in South Africa that is simly not going to happen. No one will be getting sunburnt and the odds are stacked against any possibility of any braai in the lapa leading up to Christmas.
But, every year, starting with that first Christmas, you start doing small things that end up becoming new traditions. We have a tea candle for each person that we light with the name of everyone we wish was with us every Christmas.
This is one of many small things and when our children grow up, will be something they will think back on as part of home. Because this is their home. They don't know any different than this as they were to small when we left.I say it often: I am glad we left when they were small, because now they won't ever know what this homesick feels like.
I still cry every year I light those candles. I still believe that everything in life comes at a cost, and this is absolutely a tax that is charged every year to our happiness here.
Our first Christmas the stove broke on Christmas eve. We lived an hour from the nearest town and had no car. We ended up with microwave pizza. I still smile at that when I look at the amount of meat that is already filling up the freezer in preparation for this Christmas.
My in-laws arrived a couple of months after us, and our Children have had cousins as part of their lives here, but this Christmas is even more special. My mother and father in law arrived to make Ireland their new home this morning, with our last nephew safely with them and his parents following soon.
Our Christmas will be filled with a full house and our children has a Grandma and Granddad and ALL their cousins with them! I can't wait for the cray and the busy that will come that day! And this year, I will light those candles and have my Mother in law remove theirs from the mantle.
So for each of you who will spend your first Christmas here missing your family back in South Africa, remember this. When we made the decision to come all those years ago, we anticipated being by ourselves for the rest of time, unless someone visited or we did. But, bit by bit, while we were to scared to pray for it, one by one, our family came. This year we will have a full house,and next year my husband's last brother and my mother will be calling Ireland home also and the kitchen will be even fuller!
We didn't dare dream it, but it is absolutely a dream come true.
We thought we would be alone, loving the possibility of snow and Christmas lights, but meantime we just needed to come so we could show them the way to follow..
Take it in, this is your journey. The lights may sparkle in your eyes and Robin will bring you good luck!
Important links:
#MapMyMove- Our coaching Services - Confused or lost and need some direction, book a session with us to help untangle the confusion and work out your route of immigration
Plants and Goggas that could bug you in Ireland
Checklist of things to do before you leave South Africa (Membership)
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