As another day inches past, more people here anxiously await Christmas. Boxes continue to arrive full of decorations. Aisles are emptied daily at the exchange as people rush to do last minute shopping, searching for that perfect gift for a loved one. Here where I work, the vast majority of us have completed our shopping for others. There has been one goal on our mind for the past month or so: stockpile as much as possible for the day of celebration.
Each day we attend chow, bottles of sparkling grape juice were handed out. With a sign posted reading “Please Take Only Two”, we did just that…each. As we traveled back to our makeshift patio, we’d receive looks and comments from others. “Looks like someone is about to have a party” someone would say as they passed us by. 10 bottles between five of us, we were well on our way to a festive event.
Back in the comforts of our “E-Club”, we would unload our bottles carefully into awaiting coolers packed with ice. An assortment of flavors to suit just about any taste. Grape, white grape, even diet, graced us with their presence. As alcohol is not permitted here and most likely won’t be lifted for the holiday, we prepare for the worst case scenario.
Juice hasn’t been the only items we’ve stockpiled over the past few weeks. With any great celebration, there are going to be lots of hungry guests to feed. Plates and cups gathered in our office, napkins sitting on top. Each trip to the exchange brought us one item closer, helped us check off one more necessity. Unopened herbs and spices rested inside an empty shoebox, creatively labeled by other members of the office. Homemade rubs to flavor the steaks, which were due to arrive in the coming days.
Our pending celebration was not only about food and drinks. Uploading movies to external hard drives and creating playlists on MP3 players, we ensured there would be continuous entertainment for all. Additional card tables had been purchased, extra chairs rolled outside. For those who enjoyed the occasional tobacco product, we’d even designated an area laden with ashtrays and a fire extinguisher, just to be on the safe side.
A friend had sent me an email saying she would be spending the holidays with her father who was coming in from out of town. Her plan was to have the week off, relax, and enjoy her time with her family. As there are no holidays here, no days off, I felt slightly down about my situation. This holiday season would be the first time since enlisting in the military that I would be away from my family. Every other year I would save my vacation time until December, anticipating going home for two of the greatest weeks of the year. This year would be different. Not only was there the physical separation by distance, there was the emotional separation as well. Would I miss those holiday cards and “Merry Christmas” wishes I had grown accustom to over my few years of being on this Earth?
In a short moment, I realized that I was not alone. Much like myself, everyone else here also felt the strain of being away from home on the holidays. The positive side to this was that we were not alone as we had all become a family. We’d worked together, bunked together, dined together, and played together. For hours every day, we were in close proximity to one another. Indeed, we had grown into a strange yet successful and accomplished family. This holiday season, as we stockpiled supplies and stocking stuffers, we take a moment to realize that we are not alone in this time of celebration. We take a moment to be thankful for what we have here now, what we have already been blessed with, and what we have to look forward to in the coming months.
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