This was a year of firsts for many of us.
It might’ve been your first time working from home. Or it could be the first time you found yourself without a job.
It was probably the first time you’d spent this much time away from family and friends. And it was most definitely the first time you’d been in a global pandemic.
But I really hope there were some good firsts for you, too. Those are the ones I’m trying to focus on as I head into 2021.
It was the first time I’d made money online. It was the first time I’ve owned a car less than five years old. And it was the first year of my life as a married man.
But the one that might have excited me most — the one I’ve been looking forward to for a long time — was the first time holding Christmas at my home.
It was my first time being Santa Claus.
When my wife and I were viewing our new house for the first time back in June, it was the scene I pictured. I looked at the corner where I’d already decided our Christmas tree would be placed and imagined my almost-three-year-old daughter tearing through her presents while I sipped my coffee in my Santa Claus hat.
I love Christmas. It’s my favorite holiday.
The thing is, so does my mom. She’s hosted Christmas for 45 years under her tree. Even though we were adults, my brother and I would still go home every Christmas Eve and do the same rituals on Christmas morning.
But this year, my daughter was old enough to kind of understand what Christmas was. She learned all the songs and got to ask a socially-distanced Santa for a Jeep.
She was excited, like I was.
And while I know it might’ve been hard for my mom, I had to break tradition. More accurately, I was ready to start my own.
I struggled for hours putting together that Jeep on Christmas Eve and even found myself sweating still fixing things in the morning so it would properly run.
I made sure we left cookies and milk out for Santa (and carrots for the reindeer), even though I hadn’t eaten dinner yet.
I woke up at 4:00 a.m. from excitement and sat on the couch drinking coffee waiting for my daughter to wake up.
And when she finally did, I got to experience — for the first time — my child on Christmas morning.
My baby girl, whom I’d give anything just to see smile, was tearing off wrapping paper and entranced by every gift she got. She loved them all.
I sat back on the couch with my coffee and basked in that feeling that only family can give.
For the first time in my life, I finally felt grown up.
And I loved every moment of it.
Rain Bennett is a two-time Emmy-nominated filmmaker, writer, and competitive storyteller with over a decade of experience producing documentary films that focus on health and wellness. His mission is simple: to make the world happier and healthier by sharing stories of change.
You can read the rest of “Right as Rain” here, and check back every Wednesday on Chapelboro for a new column!
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