Christmas 2013

Considering the run of events during 2013, I was kind of dreading Christmas. The hollow feeling of a lonely birthday and wedding anniversary fresh in the mind, the last thing I really wanted was another day of the year reminding me of the happiest decade in my life, being married to my dream girl.

Today, 9 years ago we were Mr and Mrs Ben and Melissa de Vos, having the time of our lives celebrating our honeymoon in Thailand.

Melissa & Ben de Vos - 18 Dec 2004

It was a time of mixed emotions though. We were very fortunate to have narrowly escaped the devastating tsunami which killed 100's of thousands of people. We were truly blessed and knew our job on earth wasn't quite done yet.

Questioning why 9 years later we should be separated having both sacrificed a lot by moving to England, I have no doubt that the reason we were spared on that morning of the 26th of December 2004 is for the fact that we were given the most beautiful girl a year and a half later. She's my ray of sunshine, my world!

Jessica de Vos

The separation hasn't been easy to deal with - not least because she's not forming part of my everyday life anymore. It's hard for a dad to go to bed not being able to kiss his sweetheart goodnight. We now only share that special moment one or two nights a fortnight, but we both treasure it. Seeing your baby kneel down and say a special prayer before bedtime, thanking the Lord for giving her a loving daddy is priceless!

So I was blessed to have Jessie over for my birthday and we enjoyed a great time! Unfortunately Melissa made plans which didn't involve me seeing Jessie on our first Christmas apart. It was a bitter pill to swallow and to be honest I wasn't sure how I would cope. At least I had her over for a couple of days before Christmas and then again from Boxing Day 'till the New Year, but Christmas 2013 was going to be a difficult one.

Geoff Trett by the Derwent

Luckily my old best friend, Geoff Trett, came up to visit and together we celebrated Christmas and ended up having an amazing day. The weather played it's part though and we took full advantage of the most perfect winter's morning by going for a walk around Darley Park. Prior to that, mad me decided to go for a little 5km jog first but that didn't take away any of the joy we had walking through the park. We weren't the only people with that idea though as we passed many others along the way as we strolled alongside the River Derwent towards Derby RFC on Haslam's Lane. 

Ben de Vos in the Abbey 

A few hundred yards further on we were greeted by a beautiful raft of ducks where a couple of families were having lots of fun feeding them. The Abbey Pub across the road from there provided the perfect halfway house where we enjoyed a little tipple in front of the log fire. The bottom bar area was hardly used in the last few years and certainly whenever I used to go there in the past it was only upstairs in operation, but I love the friendly and cosy atmosphere it provides.  

By the time we got back home it was time to start Christmas lunch. Geoff has always been in charge of the turkey ever since we moved here 6 years ago. And yet again, he did a splendid job. Christmas dinner, as it ends up every year, just wouldn't be the same without parsnips and sprouts and let's not forget about Geoff's famous Trifle..... with a rather heavy hand of, albeit enjoyable, sherry this time around.

Enjoying a little Christmas treat

In many ways it ended up being a very typical Christmas. But one which I must admit, being most enjoyable, perhaps the most enjoyable one ever. Surprisingly great and a big thank you to my mate Geoff Trett!