I Will Be Home For Christmas

I'll be home for Christmas, you can plan on me. Please have snow and mistletoe and presents on the tree.....

These words are so beautiful, especially when resonating with Bing Crosby's deep voice. I always loved this song but it didn't mean that much to me until I moved away from my home and my family. Although I consider Los Angeles to be my home now, I will always have another home in Utah. The holidays always help in reflecting my adoration for each place that I have come to love and call home.

When I first moved away five or so years ago I got so caught up in the excitement of a new adventure that I never stopped to consider that I would miss the place I had always called home. I quickly remembered to appreciate the home where my family is when the holidays rolled around that first year. There is nothing like seeing the mountains on the Wasatch front, snow-capped and giant, towering over the Salt Lake Valley as the airplane touches down. It takes my breath away every single time. The mountains in Northern Utah look so majestic compared to our smaller, smog-infested Hollywood Hills.

Shopping and admiring the beauty of the holidays with lights, sights, sounds and smells is so much fun in Los Angeles. I love driving or walking through the Rodeo Drive shopping district of Beverly Hills and looking at all of the store window displays. Santa and the reindeer are lit up over the street for all to see and the smells from all of the wonderful restaurants permeating through the air. Of course all of the popular shopping areas and malls are decorated so pretty for the holidays - Christmas music ringing. Its just so refreshing and fun for me to take it all in.

So to my family and friends in Utah ... I will be home for Christmas - not just in my dreams. I am looking forward to seeing you.