From us to you

I am by no means a do-gooder. I am a regular average person who has a bit more time on my hands than most people, which I decided to fill with volunteer work, rather than with other things. I am a full time student, work 80-90% at a store, run as often as my schedule allows and whenever I have a spear minute I volunteer. It’s as simple as that. Every now and then I donate blood, but that is it. I am telling you this, so you understand that in everyone’s life there is time and space you have to make for other people. You just have to, that is what being human is all about. Obviously my busy schedule interferes with A’s busy schedule, which is why time spent together has to be prioritized. A will always be my number one priority because without this priority I think we both would be lost in a work of schedules.

A and I have plenty of goals for ourselves but also goals that we want to reach together, where of the first and most important thing is to life our lives as happy and good as we can possibly can, because not everyone is as fortunate as we are. I am very aware of that and I make sure that A is just as aware of this, because you can lose sight of that important fact. It only takes a split second to lose everything you have.

Which is why I asked A to join me in my volunteer work at the red cross on Christmas Eve-morning. A happily agreed only realizing the night before that we would have to get up at 5 am. Now, before you shake your head and mumble words that sound like “crazy people”, this has been A’s wish for quite some time: getting up at 5 am and get a head-start on the day. Well, turns out that around 10 am A and I both crashed and burned and slept for two solid hours. (I am just telling you this for full disclosure purposes, if asked A would probably leave that part out of the story).

In the dark and cold and rainy of Oslo we went to the red cross’ homeless shelter, where A got instructions on what we signed up to do when we signed up. It meant helping people. Which was the reason why A and I, 45 minutes after we left the shelter, found ourselves pushing a vehicle without gas into a parking spot, uphill. And by we, I mean A. It was pouring down rain and the two guys that help push the vehicle, were not happy. Who would be, running out of gas on Christmas Eve? I reckon no one.

A and I finally got home, soaked and drenched but happy. We have our own Christmas traditions, which include opening Christmas presents early on Christmas Eve. Some people consider it cheating, BUT let me explain to you, WHY we do it. So A is American, which is reason to him believing, that “the real Christmas” is on Christmas Day and that we should open presents early on the 25th. I however KNOW that the real Christmas is on the eve of December 24th, which is why I opt for opening presents that night. So in one of our many compromises we came to the conclusion, that we could either open presents early on the 24th or late on the 25th, so we both would get what we think would be right, which is why we open presents early on the 24th (because I just cannot wait an extra day for Christmas presents…).

A made a scavenger-hunt for me which left me standing in the middle of the room, thinking about all the riddles A set up for me to solve and it was difficult! I mean REALLY difficult but eventually I got it without any help, because A was laughing so hard, that I could not expect him to help me. I am not that crafty with hiding presents so A got to open presents without looking long for them.

After a wonderful Christmas morning and wonderful naptime and even more wonderful Christmas-midday-coffee we then set out to the activityhouse, where we, in our own tradition, where joined by people that too needed a place to be, that was not home alone. We danced around the Christmas tree, sang songs, had a wonderful dinner and great-ish food (after three Christmases we still have not acquired the acquired taste that pinekjøtt needs).

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve, an even more wonderful Christmas Day (where A and I enjoyed each other’s company and did absolutely nothing and I mean NOTHING, other than A making Beef Wellington….) and an outrageously enjoyable boxing day with friends (including kangaroo meat and home-made croissants).

So in all I’d say this Christmas has been the best one so far and I hope you too had a wonderful Christmas with your dear ones.