A wonderful life - Shawn Loughlin editorial

Many, many years ago, the folks at The Citizen looked inwards at Christmas and we wrote our annual holiday feature stories on ourselves. Those of us in the editorial department, production and even Jill and Keith Roulston, founders of The Citizen, reflected on their very own holiday traditions.

 

When I wrote my story, I reflected on the role my grandparents played. They lived around the corner from us and, mainly my grandmother (Oma in her native German, which is what we called her), served as our caretakers a lot of the time as both of our parents worked diligently. My father, a 33-year member of the Toronto Police Service, worked on shift, as you can imagine, and that meant that some Christmases were late, early, or even on non-Christmas days to accommodate him.

 

There were a few other historic Christmas traditions - like mostly celebrating on Christmas Eve in the German tradition or always visiting with a dear friend, Chris Stunguris, and his family on Christmas Eve when I returned to Pickering for the holidays - but it mostly discussed the role my grandparents played at Christmas as a constant when my parents’ schedules would fluctuate.

 

What a difference a few years can make. I think now to what Christmas has become as the father of two young children. We host our Christmas celebration at our house and those holiday trips to Durham Region are mostly a thing of the past. This year, with Tallulah now almost three-and-a-half years old, she will have a true appreciation for all the holidays have to offer this year. She’s been to a few Santa Claus parades this season and she’s even been in one (last Saturday’s Blyth parade for those Blyth-based, eagle-eyed parade-goers and hyphen-enthusiasts) and she’s really embraced the tradition of it all (pipe bands: yes, the loud truck horns: not so much).

 

As I sat down with Scott (no corners cut here - he interviewed us just as he did with the others for his “Baby’s First Christmas” story), it gave me pause to reflect on how much the holidays - and, really, our lives - have changed since buying our house in Blyth, getting married and having children - building the life here together that we have always wanted.

 

Christmas has only been one of the stops along the way on that journey. We’ve marked so many milestones now as a family of four. Welcoming Cooper in early February meant that we have had many birthdays, holidays and other days to remember with him.

 

And now, as a kid who was always lucky to have a mountain of presents under the tree (now, as the one who buys said presents, I see just how obscene it was and how lucky we were to have all that we were given, despite not exactly being a one per cent family) my eyes have shifted from what was under the tree for me to how my children will enjoy what we’ve chosen for them (or what Santa may have left under the tree in those fateful hours between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day).

 

This year has been the perfect chance, with so much change and growth and new people to get to know and love, to reflect on all that’s changed over the past few years and how lucky we are to have all that we do. 

 

The day-to-day struggle with young children and a full-time, rather consuming job can be a challenge to juggle to say the least, but, at the end of the day, Jess and I are so lucky to have what we do and to have created the two people we love the most in this world. Watching them enjoy Christmas and do things for the first, second or third time has been a true joy and this Christmas is only the latest chapter.