I’ve spent a few hours this week reflecting on how fortunate I am. Period. I suppose this kind of thinking is natural when one has (finally) a holiday, which comes with time and space for deeper thinking.
This is my first Christmas in Singapore. And yet, it is my 5th year in this gorgeous and green city-state island.
That got me thinking about where I was for those other Christmases since I’ve been in Singapore. And then I started thinking about the many places in the world I have been lucky enough to celebrate Christmas over the years. It’s remarkable, because prior to leaving Canada, I had pretty much only celebrated Christmas in my home province of Alberta (specifically: Calgary, Edmonton, Drayton Valley, Red Deer, Hylo, Milk River) and some in the USA (specifically: Tulsa and Houston, with one post-Christmas trip to LA and San Diego).
And so, I thought it might be valuable to document the Christmases Past, so that in Christmases Future, I:
- will remember where I’ve spent my Christmases (even compiling this list was rough on my 40yo brain)
- can again look back on my Christmases Past and again be full of gratitude.
Here is the list of where I’ve spent the holidays — that wee stretch from just before Christmas to just after New Years — since I moved away from my country of birth, in chronological order, from 2001 to today. I’m very fortunate to have had these 15 years of wonderful Christmases in diverse locations.
2001: Tampa Bay and Ft Lauderdale, Florida, USA (The One When I Was Really Sick)
2002: Costa Del Sol, Spain (The One Where Mum Had Dental Work)
2003: Doha, Qatar (The One When All My Friends And Family Came Over)
2004: Algarve, Portugal (The One When I Lost My Luggage — it was bad)
2005: Doha, Qatar (The One When My Dad Left Me With The Phone Bill)
2006: Hanoi, Hoi An, and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (The One With The Confetti All Over My House)
2007: Hylo, Alberta (The One When Grandma Turned 80, and Patrick Turned 30)
2008: Hanoi, Hoi An, and Mai Chau,Vietnam, and Bali, Indonesia (The One When Maija Was Santa)
2009: Houston, Texas, USA (The One When I Was Broke Again)
2010: New Brunswick, Maine (The One When I Couldn’t Leave The USA And Kate Rescued Me)
2011: Hanoi, Vietnam (The One That Was The Law Family’s Last Christmas in Vietnam)
2012: Bali, Indonesia; Bangkok, Thailand; and Calgary, Alberta, Canada (The One When Hugh Was Born)
2013: Sydney and Adelaide, Australia (The One When It Rained On Christmas Day)
2014: Sydney and Melbourne, Australia; Guruvayoor and Ft Kochin, India (The One Where Emma & Tim and Emily & Suresh Got Married)
2015: Singapore…. The One When…. TBD 🙂
