Christmas 2014 was my first Christmas spent in Washington, DC- with a majority of past Christmases spent up north in New Jersey or down south in Florida. This year, a number of factors steered us towards spending the holiday in DC, namely that we had been away for Thanksgiving and that my caregiver is in the midst of a long trip back home to the Philippines. While my caregiver has been away, I have been very lucky that my parents have been willing and able to put their lives on hold and move to DC to help take care of me.
The week of Christmas was unusually warm in DC with temperatures ranging from 45° - 60°, which allowed me to spend a little time outside with my mom and sister who were in town for the holiday. The three of us planned to enjoy Christmas Eve dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Founding Farmers, but unfortunately Ellie’s train ride from NYC was delayed by almost four hours (busted engine). Thankfully, she made it to the restaurant in time for dessert. You are always guaranteed a great meal at Founding Farmers and I really love all of its affiliated restaurants too.
We were excited that Santa Claus found us in DC and surprised us with some great gifts. It was definitely a smaller Christmas, but over the last few years we have tried to focus on things that we need and not that we want. We attended Christmas Mass at Holy Trinity Church, right outside the gates of Georgetown University and really enjoyed the service there Which featured a lot of Christmas songs!). That evening, my mom, sister and I drove out to McLean, VA to our great friends the Motley's house and had Christmas dinner with mutual friends, the Walkers and Carolls.
While all four families are close friends, this was one of the first times in many, many years that we have been together. It was a blast for everyone to be under one roof- there was plenty of food and cocktails, but there were also plenty of jokes and catchup conversations being had which made the night very memorable.
The day after Christmas, my mom and I got one more present- when Ellie decided to change her train back to NYC at the last minute and stay for one extra night with us. We loved the fact that she was able to stay with us one more night.
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!