According to the song originally recorded by Perry Como in 1954, “there’s no place like home for the holidays”.

Since selling it all in 2017, our definition of “home” has changed from a physical place to wherever Ted and I are together.

Travelling and blogging acquaintances Brent and Michael posted their year end blog recently, which included the very wise words: “2023 wasn’t a wonderful year for everybody on Planet Earth. But we do all still live in a world that is full of beauty. And … that’s worth remembering, maybe now more than ever.”

That got me to thinking about the beautiful places in which we’ve spent the holidays, beginning with LAST Christmas in a 19th century townhouse in Mérida. We had a very full month leading up to the holiday: Episode 376 (‘Twas the week before Christmas)

We rang in 2023 with our friends of over 40 years, Theresa and Kent, also wintering in Mérida.

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Valentines Day is not a big deal for us, but February 12th – the anniversary of our engagement just 6 weeks after we started dating – is, and we spent it enjoying a most amazing meal at Rosas y Xocolate in Mérida. Episode 390 – Romance

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February in Mexico also brought the beginning of Lent. That’s not something we celebrate in Canada, beyond recognizing “Pancake Tuesday” as a throwback to using up fats and sweets prior to the traditional 40 days of partial fasting leading up to Easter, but much in the way that it is marked by Mardi Gras in New Orleans, it’s “Carnaval” in Mexico! There was even a special parade featuring students from the local schools and music/dance centres. Episode 391 – Mini Carnaval

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Saint Patrick’s Day was celebrated with my Spanish class full of Canadian and American expats studying at the Mérida English Library, where our flamboyant teacher Jorge (no photos) got decked out in “verde” for us.

Easter in Mérida brought the realization that it’s not about chocolate and bunnies for most of the world; the city celebrated the religious holiday with church services and much bell ringing.

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May brings both Mothers’ Day and Victoria Day in Canada, the latter affectionately known as the May “two-four” long weekend, a reference to the very Canadian tradition of heading to the cottage, watching fireworks, and drinking a case of 24 beers to celebrate the birthday of Queen Victoria (May 24, 1819). She likely would not have been amused. We were headed to Ireland, where she is much less fêted.

Sadly, this past May was an incredibly sad month, with Victoria Day weekend forever in the future marking the passing of our #2 daughter-in-law’s amazing mom, “Nonna” to our grandsons. Our middle grandson, wise beyond his 8-1/2 years, said that for the rest of his life fireworks will remind him of his Nonna. She truly was a light in everyone’s life, with a sparkle that shone even brighter than her beloved sequins.

June holds Fathers’ Day and we were in BC, but hosting my cousins from Germany and busy showing them the wonders of the areas around Vancouver and Whistler. The original plan for the day was to have a traditional Fathers’ Day family barbecue with son #2, but one of our grandsons spiked a fever, scuppering that plan. Instead, it was bacon cheeseburgers and bottomless fries at the local Red Robin.

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Canada Day! Where were we on July 1st? Actually IN Canada!

Labour Day in September marked back-to-school for our grandsons, and a return to “routine” for us in a year where we’d already spent most of our allowable out-of-country time (a max of 7 months per year in order to keep our provincial health insurance valid). I marked Labour Day weekend by getting ready to meet my best friend Barbie for a few days in Victoria.

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We usually try to spend Thanksgiving with our kids, since it’s my favourite holiday of the entire year, but this October we were in the Sahara on camels on Thanksgiving Day – incredibly thankful for each other and the amazing things we are fortunate enough to be able to do together. Episode 441

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November 11th marks Remembrance Day. Ted felt very lucky to be able to spend the day with son #2, who is active RCAF but also a veteran of the conflicts in both Afghanistan and Kuwait. He and Ted were able to take in the ceremonies at the Cenotaph, as well as visiting with veterans and dignitaries at the local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.

And now we’re back to this Christmas, uncharacteristically since our retirement spent both in Canada and near one of our sons.

What Ted and I have had reinforced for us through our recent “nomadic” years is that no one day on the calendar is more precious than any other, and that includes Christmas. Since our kids married and moved away, we’ve spent more Christmas mornings on FaceTime than we have in person with them. Even when we lived near son #2’s family during Covid, gatherings were prohibited and we celebrated separately.

2023 has been a particularly stressful year for son #2’s family: not only their unexpected move which was completed just this past week, but the tragic loss of our grandsons’ Nonna, for whom Christmas was the absolute highlight of the year. They’re understandably not feeling much like celebrating, and have opted to have Christmas Eve on their own, focussing on Nonna’s traditions, followed by a really low-key Christmas Day. We’re feeling quite special that they’re willing to share part of that day with us, given the circumstances.

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We are constantly reminded – but especially when we look at our grandsons – of Brent and Michael’s sentiment, that “we do all still live in a world that is full of beauty”. That is worth remembering and celebrating wherever we are.

We’ll begin the first 2 months of 2024 in Mexico, Hawaii, and San Diego California. Ted and I wish everyone a healthy, peaceful coming year, and look forward to taking you with us as we continue to live our retirement dreams.