Comfort & Joy and A Darcy Christmas

"Comfort & Joy" is my first Kristin Hannah book. I picked it up at a garage sale this summer and saved it for December.
"Comfort & Joy" follows Joy Candellaro, who is facing her first Christmas as a divorced woman. Even worse, the other woman in her husband's life is her own sister. When Joy's sister turns up on her driveway to give her a wedding invitation, she panics and takes off to the airport, where she buys a ticket to a place called "Hope." The plane doesn't quite make it, and she ends up at a place called the Comfort Lodge with a man named Daniel and his son, Bobby.
I knew pretty early on that not everything was as it seemed. The scenes at the Comfort Lodge seemed very dream-like and, given the "twist," I think Hannah did a very good job there. "Comfort & Joy" didn't blow me away. It's a nice story, set at Christmas, and it has a happy ending. That's pretty much all there is to say for it. I'm not sure if I'll read more from Kristin Hannah, but I'm not sorry I read "Comfort & Joy."

Before I picked up "Comfort & Joy," I tried to read "A Darcy Christmas." It was free for Nook a couple of weeks ago on Free Friday, and I was very excited to not only get a Jane Austen-inspired but a Christmas book! And the the cover was so lovely. It's actually three novellas written by three different authors, and as it turned out, I could only get through one of the stories. The first, "Mr. Darcy's Christmas Carol," was basically just a retelling of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," with Mr. Darcy replacing Ebenezer Scrooge. Boring! I plan to do my annual reading of "A Christmas Carol" yet this month, and would much prefer to read the original. The second story, "Christmas Present," was much better. It is a sweet little story, written by Amanda Grange. I thought Grange did a good job of capturing Jane Austen's voice, and I enjoyed the story. The third novella is "A Darcy Christmas." After reading "Christmas Present," this felt like it really missed the mark. It didn't feel Austenesque at all. The prose was far too modern. Needless to say, I did not finish it.

I'm also reading "The Invention of Wings" by Sue Monk Kidd (I got an advance copy from Net Galley), and I plan to stop at the library today to pick up "The Christmas Train" by David Baldacci. I'm not usually so obsessed with Christmas books this time of year, but this year I am! I got approved for "The Christmas Train" on Net Galley, but when I tried to download it, it said that it had already been archived and I can't. Boo. All is not lost, however, since I discovered it's not a new book and in fact my library has it!

It's a Wonderful Life

Our first Christmas with Jane was great, if not a bit stressful. It seems most people forget what it is like to have an infant and have a lot of expectations for what we should be able to do! When your baby's fussy time is in the evening, it's difficult to sit at a holiday gathering. It's also hard for people to understand why she gets crabby when she's passed around from person to person every few minutes. It's no fun for her and not really that fun for us, either.
That said, we did have a good Christmas. My favorite part of the weekend was our little family Christmas with just the three of us on Christmas morning. I wish we had had more time with just our little family, but other obligations mean that isn't possible. It is still so hard for me to share my daughter with others! I just want her all to myself.
Here is the column I wrote this week about Jane's first Christmas.

As you can imagine, my daughter was the center of attention this Christmas. It’s almost as fun as the good old days when yours truly was the center of attention. Or maybe it’s even better.

As expected, Jane’s first Christmas was much more exciting for the rest of us than it was for her. She did get some new toys that she loves, including a sock monkey from her nostalgic parents.

She did not get her first Barbie, even though her Grandma Janet thought she might need one. I told her there was no way a two-and-a-half-month-old would like a Barbie. Imagine my surprise when Jane’s eyes lit up at the sight of her cousin’s new Barbie! She just might take after her aunt, who never did like baby dolls and much preferred Barbie! The story of how she wrote all over her new baby doll’s face because she wanted a Barbie instead is legendary in our family.

Since I can say whatever I want here, I’d like to take this time to brag on my niece and share one of the sweetest gifts Jane received this Christmas. My niece is in third grade, and up until October was the baby of the family. You would think she might be a little bit jealous, but she adores her new cousin.

Morgan used her own money to buy Jane a Christmas gift. She bought her a card, and wrapped the gift herself. It makes me tear up a little bit just thinking about it. What a thoughtful, wonderful thing to do!

We still have two more Christmases to attend this week, even though we have already attended three and had our own little celebration at home on Christmas morning with just the three of us. Normally I’d be all Christmassed-out by this time, but I don’t think I’ll ever tire of celebrating with our little girl. Every moment has been truly priceless.

Even though I know there will be many wonderful holidays to come, I’m not ready for Jane’s first Christmas to be over just yet. There are some moments in live I could live over and over again, and this is one of them.

• • •

Having my own little girl brings the memories of my own childhood Christmases rushing back. Those magical Christmas Eves spent at Grandma Scherbart’s. Our family gift opening on Christmas morning. Heading out to Grandma Widman’s in the afternoon. All of these combined to make for many special holidays.

One of the most memorable Christmas mornings was the year I came downstairs to discover that Santa had not only brought me several Strawberry Shortcake dolls, he had set them up in the living room for me! It was like walking in on toys who had been playing amongst themselves and stopped when I entered the room. I think if I could recreate this today for myself, I would still think it was neat.

Now that I’m a parent, I can start planning such things of my own. I can’t wait to make Jane’s Christmases as special as mine were growing up!