Giving Thanks and Talking Traditions

2014- My mailed tree

It’s been a little while, but oh what things I have to be thankful for in the time since I’ve last written. I’ll catch you up with a quick little recap before getting to the traditions talk! The last few months have been quite busy for Sam and I as we’ve settled in to lower 48 living again and recovered from moving and wedding preparations. We’ve enjoyed a lot of time spent with family and friends, have traveled a bit, celebrated some weddings, and had some adventures. As for work, I accepted a long term building substitute position in a school close to home, with kids who keep me on my toes and bring me a lot of laughs throughout my days. I started a new venture in my writing and wellness journey and began a new instagram/blog focused on wellness and have been enjoying learning new things, trying new recipes, and sharing my journey with others; visit www.sapdak.com if you want to check it out! Sam and I are itching to set down some more roots and are praying that we’ll be settling into a house of our own by summertime. Thankful is an understatement and I just feel overwhelmed with gratitude as I write this, because while I want for things and daily life is not without it’s challenges, I live a life filled with many good people and countless blessings. 

2015- Cutting trees with an ax

Alright, now that I’ve caught you up and shared some of the things I was thankful for this Thanksgiving, I want to talk about something that means so much to me, which as you might have guessed by the title of this post, is family traditions. As you know, I sure love me some routines, especially when it comes to the holidays! What makes the difference between routines and traditions is the people and circumstances surrounding them. When Sam and I first began talking and getting to know each other, we found our way to a discussion about Christmas. Without faltering, I surely said something along the lines of missing being home for a Wyckoff’s Christmas tree season. Wyckoff’s is the name of my family’s Christmas Tree farm and is a place that is near and dear to my heart; it was the setting for our wedding celebration in August! When I was younger, I loved babysitting my little cousins as my parents, aunts, uncles, and various other family members helped out on the farm during the weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Somewhere near the end of high-school, I transitioned from babysitting to being outside on “The Hill”, calling numbers and helping price trees that came through. I cannot explain how much I looked forward to those 4 weekends each year. 

2015- My ax-cut tree

Fortunately, I went to college close to home and was able to spend my weekends on the farm for tree season all four years. For most of them, I would spend Friday thru Sunday at my grandparents house on the farm. I would help get coffee ready, take the walkie-talkies around, set up food and any other morning tasks before heading out the door to find my spot on the top of the hill calling out numbers. These 4 to 5 weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are when the tireless work of my uncle, grandpa, aunts, cousins, and trusted workers pays off. Seeing people come year after year to cut down their own tree is just an experience I love being a “fly on the wall” for. I have seen couples coming for the first time, families returning for their annual trip after 20 years or more, groups of friends gathering to spend the day tailgating and tree-picking, lots of little ones picking out their first tree, and all the fur babies taking part in their human's adventures. Nothing is better, however, than the years in which couples went up for a tree and came back down to us with one member of the group flashing a sparkly new piece of jewelry; engagements are my favorite! We would finish our nights with dinner at my Aunt and Uncle’s as everyone piled themselves around the table surrounded by Chinese take-out containers or pizza boxes and recapped their favorite parts of the day, caught up on each other’s weeks, and thawed out all extremities. I could write an entire book about it, and oh my momma-in-love is trying to convince me to do so. That however, is a story for another day and one I look forward to telling! To sum it up, the atmosphere of Christmas Tree Season is unlike anything else I’ve experienced. It is in its own category of goodness and perfection and I just thrive on every busy, cold, exciting second of it. 

2016- Our first snowy tree cutting day

Needless to say that when I moved to Alaska, I was crushed knowing that I would miss out on an entire season on the tree farm. Little did I know then that it would be four seasons missed, but that’s getting ahead of myself. Keep in mind that when I told Sam about the farm, I was also trying to start a relationship and didn’t want this guy to think I was obsessed with Christmas trees. I likely toned down my explanation a bit so that I did not sound like a crazy person. A few weeks later we spent our first Thanksgiving together, which in rural Alaska required flights for both of us to a village in between where we both lived at the time. It was a feat of its own, but we spent a few days enjoying our new boyfriend-girlfriend status and the company of those who had brought us together. As Wyckoff’s opens up for the Christmas season the day after Thanksgiving, Sam was there to experience the emotions of deep homesickness. Keep in mind that this was after almost 4 months of living on my own, in isolation, in rural Alaska.. I probably ugly cried.. thank God I didn’t scare him off with that one. You see, if he’d been scared off, I wouldn’t have gotten the package that I did a few days after we parted ways and went back to our own villages. 

2016- My 1st tree with a real stand

After my Thanksgiving trip I returned to Pilot Point, which was my home at the time, and got back into the school routine. A few days later, I made a trip to the post office to check the mail and was greeted with a large box on the counter. The postmistress had a bit of a funny look on her face as she lifted the large but incredibly light box and said, “I think there’s a tree in there!”. I can feel the heat spreading into my cheeks again, even 4 years later, as I knew that Sam had sent me a Christmas tree. I quickly went home and stood in my living room opening a box with tears in my eyes. Wouldn’t you know that inside stood a tiny, live tree covered in a strand of lights. THE BOY MAILED ME A CHRISTMAS TREE, and again I knew that I would marry him someday. While I could not be home for weekends on the tree farm, I was able to spend each day admiring my little tree and counting down the days until my reunion with my family.

2017- When we trudged miles
through 4 ft. deep snow to get trees

Over the next three years, I spent my tree seasons in Nondalton, the village I moved to after my first semester in Alaska. During my second year, I spent Thanksgiving with friends in a neighboring village, Newhalen. This was where Sam lived and we enjoyed a day with local friends as well as the addition of our friend Julie, who had gotten “weathered” in Newhalen while trying to get to Kokhanok for the holiday weekend. Julie and I went out the next day and cut down some trees for her to take home to some friends in her very barren village, Port Heiden. We laughed and laughed as we cut down trees with an ax and felt independent and proud when we were finished. My third year in Alaska brought with it the first Thanksgiving I would host in my own apartment. I was thrilled to have people over for a great day of food, games, and outdoor adventures. The following day we bundled up and trudged through snow to get trees with Caitlin and Emily. My fourth and final year in Alaska brought with it another Thanksgiving hosted in my home, with my fiancé and our sweet adventure pup, Cessna. I was filled with happiness the next day as we once again layered up and journeyed through deep snow to find the perfect tree. While they were not anything like opening day on the tree farm, my Christmas tree adventures would soon become some of my favorite memories. 

2017- My tree with 2 stockings
 and a new pup

This year, however, I was thrilled to know that after four years I would again find myself on the farm for Wyckoff’s weekends. Sam’s parents have been visiting us for the week and we enjoyed a low-key Thanksgiving day with them, with an unexpected but incredibly welcome visit from my parents who were able to join us for a few hours. The day was filled with yummy food, Christmas movies, and a cut-throat game of Monopoly. Even better was the fact that this year, I celebrated the holiday as a wife to my sweet Christmas tree mailing husband who I predicted marrying back with that first Christmas tree. Then, after four years away, I was able to spend time on the tree farm on opening day. The closer we got to the farm, the more butterflies started fluttering around in my belly. I have been counting down to this day for weeks and was back in my element when we drove down the lane on our way to the top of the hill. Sam and his parents teased me a bit when I rolled down my window to tell a man that he had put his tree on his roof facing the wrong direction and would need to spin it around. As we parked and got out of the car, they chuckled as I ran off to tell another person the same thing. Throughout the rest of our time on the farm, I would excuse myself to help those with confusion in their eyes or questions on their lips. Yesterday, I felt that deep warmth in my heart that is only accompanied by returning home after some time away. While we didn’t spend the entire day on the farm working, I was just as excited to be visiting as a “tourist” getting a tree for the first time with her husband. I FELT ALL THE EMOTIONS, and still do as I type this. 

2018- Our 1st Wyckoff's
Christmas tree!

2018- Tree picking with the in-loves<3

The past 5 tree seasons, this year's included, have brought with them such different stages in my life. From a recent college graduate trying to survive life away from home in rural Alaska to a wife showing her husband and in-laws around a place I love so much, each season has brought new adventures and memories. Looking back on the pictures brings back the conversations and memorable moments of each tree I acquired during my winters in Alaska. This year’s picture hopefully signifies the first of countless years on the farm picking out trees as, God-willing, my family grows over the years. Traditions are not always about doing things a specific way in a certain place, but sometimes include changing the people and setting to achieve a common end result. Each holiday season of my post-graduate adult life has included Thanksgiving dinners surrounded by great company and were followed by a memorable and adventurous tree-picking story. Sam and I are looking forward to being able to lend a hand at the farm in the coming weekends. While he got a taste for tree season in full swing yesterday, I just cannot wait until Sam gets to experience a weekend of working full days on the farm! 

2018- The 1st official
Rigby family tree!

As we begin to get our apartment decorated and hang the ornaments on our first Wyckoff's Christmas tree, I look forward to continuing our current traditions and beginning new ones. It fills my heart with joy and contentment to be in a place where I can begin my own traditions with my little family. I look forward to the next few weeks as we prepare for Christmas, spend time with family and friends, and watch all the cheesy traditional Christmas movies. I don't know about you, but for me, it truly is one of the most wonderful times of the year! 

Whether you celebrate Christmas or any other holiday, I would love to hear some of your favorite traditions for the holiday season!