I grew up away from my extended family and in the 1980s and 1990s the distance between New England and California might as well have been New England to Singapore. I didn’t know any different. My Christmases always felt abundant in love from our “friends who were family” in California and for everything we did leading up to and surrounding the holidays. 

I now understand and appreciate that my Christmases were special because my parents created traditions. Our family traditions have changed over the years as our location, age and circumstances have changed but the magic has remained year after year. 

Living abroad has so many ups and so many downs. Life can look like a constant vacation but we still deal with all the real life stuff. The difference is that we don’t have a “normal” support system in place.