Tradition

It’s something we do every Christmas. We pick a nearby town or village and just walk around it.

We look at the buildings. We point and say ‘huh look at that’ to each other. We think about the history of the place (there is always a lot of history to the place).

If it’s open, we stand in the church and feel uncomfortable (none of us are religious). Sometimes Julie will light a candle for Stella.

Then, after all that is done, we pile back into the car and return home.

The first time we did it, I thought it was madness. Why go to a place if you don’t have a reason to go there? What was the point? I remember feeling frustrated about the whole thing. Julie would point at something and I would stare back at her with narrowed eyes. Why was she making me look at things?

But now, when it is suggested, I am happy to go. After all, there is a reason now: we do it because it is what we do. It is a tradition.