If I am being completely honest, this month has been extremely difficult for me. I have now been away longer than I ever have without coming back home. The Christmas season just isn't the same. I miss the carolers and the spirit and the crazies who camp out 24 hours ahead of opening times on Black Friday.
All week, I have been checking the weather forecast. I have been a bit compulsive. I convinced myself that it would snow for me on Christmas. I kept crossing my fingers while the forecasts grew increasingly dismal. Talking to friends and family celebrating back home really sets in the homesickness. So, today, in the gloomy, gray-smeared sky of Duzce, I decided to head out of the apartment and run some last minute errands to prepare for our Christmas brunch we are hosting tomorrow. I was a bit down in the dumps because of the rainy weather when I looked up from my feet slushing through the wet sidewalks and saw SNOW! If any of you are from Florida, you can imagine my excitement. Snow. Snow. Snow. The first time that it has snowed in my tiny town in Turkey was on Christmas Eve! I took this is a godly blessing! I keep telling myself to remember that the spirit of Christmas is not where you are, but the loved ones you are with. So as I walked in the freezing outdoors, I couldn't help but burst out into the full three minute song of White Christmas. Did I care that passers by thought I was crazy? Absolutely not. The weird American was singing Christmas songs referring to snow in her black coat and galoshes and her white, clear, umbrella. And that weird American, in that moment, turned a months worth of disappointment and sadness of being away from home, into pure joy. The flakes were the biggest, whitest flakes I have ever seen: the kind where the child in you can't help but stick out your tongue and throw your head back! The three hours of beautiful, white, pure and magical snow made my Christmas amazingly special.
So dear loved ones around the world, I wish you a Merry Christmas from Duzce, a place that surprised me with my very first White Christmas :) May our perspectives be challenged this next year. May we look at the ones we love and see the very best in them, and recognize the best in ourselves. May we spread love and truth, instead of hate and slander. Let's celebrate this day with all the love we've got. I plan to. Sending all my love.
All week, I have been checking the weather forecast. I have been a bit compulsive. I convinced myself that it would snow for me on Christmas. I kept crossing my fingers while the forecasts grew increasingly dismal. Talking to friends and family celebrating back home really sets in the homesickness. So, today, in the gloomy, gray-smeared sky of Duzce, I decided to head out of the apartment and run some last minute errands to prepare for our Christmas brunch we are hosting tomorrow. I was a bit down in the dumps because of the rainy weather when I looked up from my feet slushing through the wet sidewalks and saw SNOW! If any of you are from Florida, you can imagine my excitement. Snow. Snow. Snow. The first time that it has snowed in my tiny town in Turkey was on Christmas Eve! I took this is a godly blessing! I keep telling myself to remember that the spirit of Christmas is not where you are, but the loved ones you are with. So as I walked in the freezing outdoors, I couldn't help but burst out into the full three minute song of White Christmas. Did I care that passers by thought I was crazy? Absolutely not. The weird American was singing Christmas songs referring to snow in her black coat and galoshes and her white, clear, umbrella. And that weird American, in that moment, turned a months worth of disappointment and sadness of being away from home, into pure joy. The flakes were the biggest, whitest flakes I have ever seen: the kind where the child in you can't help but stick out your tongue and throw your head back! The three hours of beautiful, white, pure and magical snow made my Christmas amazingly special.
So dear loved ones around the world, I wish you a Merry Christmas from Duzce, a place that surprised me with my very first White Christmas :) May our perspectives be challenged this next year. May we look at the ones we love and see the very best in them, and recognize the best in ourselves. May we spread love and truth, instead of hate and slander. Let's celebrate this day with all the love we've got. I plan to. Sending all my love.
What a wonderful, noble wish for the new year. The US misses you too. Just remember, this is truly a one-of-a-kind Christmas so go play in the snow :)
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