Merry Christmas from Redhead Roamer!

Every year, my mom gets a new Christmas ornament for our family’s tree that relates to what was going on in our lives that year. In the past, it has been running shoes, an engagement ring, and a kitty for me or a surfboard, basketball shoes, and a white doctor’s coat for my sister. This year, my mom had a travel suitcase displayed prominently in the center of the tree in honor of our RTW trip. Originally, I wasn’t going to be able to appreciate it at Christmas as we hadn’t planned on making the long trip back to the states from Africa. But after some unexpected news, we found ourselves home for the holidays and making the very best out of what could have been a very sad time. Even though we miss my grandfather dearly, his death and the adjacent holidays brought us all together for some serious quality time that we haven’t had in years. Chris even got to fly to see his parents in Nashville, and I was able to join my family on a trip to Portland for a long weekend that they had already planned. Now, we’re getting ready to start a 45-hour trek back to Africa (we are leaving mid-afternoon Christmas day and landing around 11am Eastern time two days later). It will probably be the worst travel day(s) of our lives, but we would have gladly traveled much farther for this wonderful time with our friends and families. I hope you have a similarly happy holiday, Roamers!