Hard Time With The Holidays

Let me tell you something, moving during the holiday season has sucked. That last sentence is also an understatement.  I don't think you can actually quantify the level of suck that moving in the November/December time frame actually contains.

First off let me preface this by saying, I knew I was going to have to leave England at some point.  I got that. I for once am not actually complaining about moving away from England.  I am talking about the other aspects of moving one's entire family overseas and to the middle of blinking nowhere during this festive time of year.

So here is a list of why it sucks so bad.

1. Moving is expensive. You know all those things you really wanted to get for your kids? Scratch those off your list. It's not going to happen unless you a fan of financial ruin. Instead of gifts you're going to be buying all the essential things you need to live in your new home.

2. No decorations- You know all those fantastic decorations you have saved up in tubs in the garage?  Yeah you won't get to use them this year.  Instead, you will buy a $20 "Christmas bush" from Wal-mart so the kids will have something to decorate.

3. Christmas Bushes don't feel like Christmas Trees-  Let's be honest a four foot "Christmas Tree" isn't exactly what you have in mind when you think of Christmas around the tree.  You will probably not have your ornaments either so you will settle for cheap baubles from Wally World as well.  It's not exactly magical.

4. You Aren't in Familiar Surroundings-  Want to go shopping?  Better pull out the mobile phone to google a place and the Sat Nav to find your way there. There is no more popping to the shop until you figure out your way around. In my case you need to add in the fact that there is loads of snow and ice on the ground as well.

5.  If you have a Christmas baby like I do, they won't have any friends around to celebrate with.  Birthdays with no friends stink. For the record we did a really early and over the top birthday party for La in October.  It was Harry Potter themed and completely insane. On her actual birthday she ended up going to her last day of school for the term and having a pretty run of the mill day.  It did snow though.

6. Skype and FaceTime don't cut it.  I love technology.  I love Skype and FaceTime too.  However, during the holidays it just does not replace being in the same room as your loved ones. Your phone or computer can't hug you back.

7. Having no local friends during the holidays is almost worse than not having family close by. I am used to not spending the holidays close to my family.  Hazard of the job. Having no friends nearby is not something I wasn't prepared for.  I can not tell you how bad this sucks.  Even when I moved to England I had a support system of friends who were already there.  So, this was the first time I had to go cold turkey at the holidays.

8. It is hard to get into the "Christmas Spirit" when the only thing you have to look forward to is gifts. Everyone loves gifts, but that isn't what this season is about. When I think of Christmas I think of being with family and friends, sitting around trading stories, going to church together and the comfort and familiarity of all the traditions. When you don't have that to look forward to, Christmas just feels like a morning where you get a lot of new stuff.  

I am going to stop there because I could probably go on and on for ages.  I will say that I was lucky enough to spend Thanksgiving with my family, which was amazing.  It was mainly December that was hard.  I am just looking forward to the New Year.