Christmas in the empty nest is quick. With adult children juggling work schedules and visits with in-laws you have to make the most of every minute you have with them. That is what my husband and I did this Christmas. Our two children’s visits overlapped by a mere sixteen hours and part of that was spent sleeping. Nevertheless, it was good to be together again if only for a short time.
I got to thinking about how our children’s holiday memories will be different than that of ours. My husband and I live in the same town in which we were born so neither of us have ever had to travel home for the holidays. We know that there is no place like home for the holidays because we have always been home.
After our fourth trip to the airport, either picking up or dropping off, I felt like singing dashing to the airport instead of dashing through the snow.
When I was young, I never got the song Over the River and Through the Woods. My family merely drove a few miles across town and through the golf course to get to Grandmother’s house. That was before we moved into the same neighborhood as my grandparents. After that, I’ll be home for Christmas literally meant walking down the street.
All of those classic holiday songs and Christmas carols will have more meaning for our children. Their memories will include going home for the holidays and being home for Christmas.
There are other Christmas classics that we have difficulty relating to. For example, Baby, It’s Cold Outside didn’t apply to our Christmas week of record temperatures in the high eighties. And the only White Christmas we would dream of would be the white sand at our favorite beach about an hour away.
Fortunately, the sacred Christmas carols celebrating the birth of Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, apply to us whether or not we have to travel to be with loved ones for Christmas. The words are just as meaningful if you are wearing shorts and a t-shirt or bundled up in your warmest winter coat.
Whether your nest is empty or full, I hope you had a blessed Christmas with the ones you love!
Kim Wilbanks 
I think this hit home for many of us baby boomers when families were all within short driving/walking distance, but, now, they are spread out all over the country and, for some, all over the world. Happy New Year!
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So true! I was comparing notes with some college friends last year. Most of us went back to our hometowns and still live there while our offspring have scattered all over the place!
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