I just got off the phone with my sister. It actually hasn't been that long since we saw her as she was in Finland about 3 months ago for a couple of days. But still, it is a reminder of how far my family is away.
We saved our present for our daughter so she could open it on 'proper Christmas', a tradition we might keep in the future as it is nice to have the quiet time together. She opened it while my sister watched through the phone but, it is not really the same is it? Perhaps next year or the year after, we will manage to get to Australia for a little bit.
I didn't call my dad though and it is too late now. I will try to give him a call tomorrow on Boxing Day, but I doubt he will be able to understand the conversation. He struggles when there are people in the room, on the phone it will be very difficult. My brother 
For my brothers, I sent a quick 'Merry Christmas' message. I think they will get enough out of it. We have never been such a Christmas family other than being together for food and talk. It has been literally decades since that happened though.
I think it is hard for the people who haven't moved a long way away from their family to understand what distance means. I know here in Finland people who struggle to travel 150 kilometres once or twice a year to visit family, they are always too busy doing something more interesting than spending time with the familiar. I have also seen those people lose family and hold regrets for not spending more time.
Personally, I am not one for regrets, at least of this nature. How I see it is that we all make our decisions and sometimes they are not in the best interest of our future self. It isn't something to regret, it is something to learn from. Shortsightedness plagues us all and in some regards, it should. We should spend more time in the moment, enjoying what is instead of worrying about what could be or, what could have been.
I think Christmas is a reminder of that for me, a time where I can forget a little of the year that was and the year that will be and just spend some time in the moment. The children laughing at their presents excitedly, the adults smiling as they watch and of course, the food. It is simple if you do not think think too much, something I tend to do a lot of.
I spend a lot of time thinking about the future, especially that of my daughter. She will of course make of her life what she will but it is my job to make sure she has the space to learn and grow herself. For the first time since she was born, I feel I have a chance to give her more of an opportunity than I thought.
I thought it would be an early life of subsistence, where her parents would struggle to survive each day. This has been the case up until now but, I feel like there is a slight shift, a breath of possibility that has crept into my thinking, washed across me. I feel that in the future, I may be able to provide her with more opportunity than I had, not less.
For this I am grateful, even if it doesn't eventuate, even if it collapses and amounts to nothing more than failed dreams. It has reminded me that there is possibility in this world, that there is a chance that a community can pull together to make life a little better, at least for some of us.
It has reminded me that I can change, I can make moves, I am not stuck in my thinking, I can still grow and still add some value. I have never been an early adopter but, the gap is closing. What seemed a world away, is drawing nearer and I think I might have a place in it or at least, help my daughter to find hers.
Wherever you are in this world, however close or far from those you care about, however difficult the situation, or however privileged you may be, there is a lot of room for us to move, a lot of space to create, this world is getting smaller and we are a big part of what it may look like in the years to come.
Enjoy the break, enjoy your family, enjoy the moments and rest but remember, there is a lot of work left to do, we are not there yet.
Taraz
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