Memories of Christmas Past....

Cape Cod, 2014

We made two more milestones last month: Five years in the pacific northwest and best of all, 11 years together! I met JSM back in November of 2003. I was temping before going to library school at the University of South Florida. I was leaving Miami....never to come back again. As far as I was concerned I'd stayed 3 years too long and after 4  years I was ready to fly away. I was the receptionist, he was the purchasing guy who was so kind when I transferred calls from the front desk (a job I was way over qualified for, but it passed the time.) I was new and didn't know who anyone was, but I would think to myself, "Wow, that Jeff McNally is the nicest guy here..." Then, one day I caught a glimpse of him on his way to lunch. It was love at first sight, but of course, I didn't stand a chance and by the way, I was leaving in 21 days time never to come back to South Florida again.

The man who stole my heart in 2003.

The next week, I was promoted! Now, I was the "assistant" to the woman who purchased the fresh vegetables (we worked for the purchasing arm of Subway at the time) and I was tasked with organizing the salad roll-out dinner. (Remember when Subway had a slew of spinach salads? Probably not....) So, I strategically placed myself at JSM's table. We had one thing in common: we'd both worked for Starbucks. So, we could talk about that, but first, a glass of wine, you know, in case he had a girlfriend. We met, we talked, and I took a sip of wine....but then somehow, my wineglass slipped through my fingers and JSM started dinner with Merlot all over his lavender button down. OMG! I was mortified. He was smitten (or so he says.) Later, he told me that he thought that wine spill was the most endearing thing!

Fast forward a couple hours and we're having drinks with a group of co-workers. We'd spent the evening talking and it turns out we both loved The Police and had birthdays 1 day (and 11 years!) apart. Mid-conversation, he turned to the group and announced, "I've just met the future Mrs. McNally!" I was shocked, but I knew he was the one for me. I moved. He visited me (at my grandmother's house!) once a month for 2 years. That's love and I smile to this day when I think about that time.

We were so young!! (Not really, but it seems like it...)

A little known fact is that as a girl I dreamed of summering on Cape Cod. Nobody really summers any more because life is hectic and expensive, but in my teens I knew people who did (though certainly not my family!) I had never been to the Cape, but I imagined it beautiful, peaceful, and traditional. Growing up in the military, we moved quite a bit so there was not one place I called "home". Perhaps my draw to Cape Cod was the consistency of having the same place to visit every year. The first time I went to JSM's apartment on Miami Beach I noticed a magnet on his refrigerator that read "I'm on Cape Time." I immediately asked, "What's Cape time?" And he responded without hesitation, "my parents live on Cape Cod and I spent my summers there growing up." We've spent a week there almost every summer since.

Our first trip to Cape Cod together. This photo was taken on Nantucket in 2004. (Incidentally, JSM is the only guy I know who prefers short hair on me. How lucky did I get?)

We got engaged on Christmas Day 2005 (I still have those pajamas!)

I love this photo of my late father in law, mother in law, and I the day JSM and I got engaged.

With my sisters on our wedding day in February 2007. He had no idea what he was getting himself into when he met me - the four of us, we're kind of a package deal! I LOVE him so.

This past summer JSM bought me this necklace in Chatham, Mass. I adore it!

Last week, as I opened our many boxes of Christmas ornaments, I was reminded of all the years we've had together.  Christmas is our favorite time of year and we've made a point to pick up ornaments that trace our life together. We have ornaments from childhood, places we've visited, states we've lived, experiences we've shared, people we've loved, and things we've liked along the way. Christmas at Little House on Brush Prairie just wouldn't be the same without these treasured keepsakes that mark the passing of our time together. If there's ever a fire, I'm grabbing the Christmas ornaments! 

My home state and where JSM and I met...

JSM's home and favorite hockey team. Go, Bruins! 

Decorating the tree...

My very first ornament from Auntie Rehtse (1976)

A Starbucks coffee cup represents our past corporate lives

A Santa Claus starfish bought at my all time favorite store, Snow's, on Cape Cod.

McNally Christmas cards from years past....preserved for always (and future Holiday decorations!)

For us, the holidays are about family: the family we are and our extended families and friends as well. I know that's not the case for everyone. One of my favorite quotes about Christmas comes from A Family Christmas by Caroline Kennedy (yes, the one who summered on Cape Cod!) With this in mind, may everyone enjoy a wonderful holiday season:

"Christmas is a holiday of hope....Hope can bring disappointment. Love can be painful. Families fracture and recombine. And the powerful emotions of the holidays are not always easy to manage. Yet the liturgy and literature teaches us that Christmas encompasses the miraculous and the tragic, the profound and the ridiculous, and always represents the connection to something larger than ourselves."

XOXO