Letter to Santa

Dear Santa/ Father Christmas/ Pére Nöel/ Saint Nic/ Holly King,

I know I Don't usually write to you but this year is special. I have been a faithful elf in your service for many years now and all I ask in return is one thing: I would love to spend Christmas with my family in the UK. I would love to hug my parents and sister. I would love to tell my nieces and nephews how much they've grown. I would love to see our kids play with their family.

When we decided to move abroad one thing we knew we were sacrificing was contact with family. Sure we speak to them on the phone and regularly on whatsapp etc but there's nothing quite like seeing someone you love in person. One of our concerns, Santa, was that our parents are getting older. We knew Japan was far but given the deal my husband got from his employer we thought getting flights 'home' wouldn't be an issue. Little did we know, when we chose to remain in Japan for Christmas last year, that a pandemic was about to hit and hit hard. We love our life in Japan but we miss our family so much.

My very hardworking and lovely husband would love to go back to see his dad. You see, Santa, his dad has dementia. Although he knows his sister and other siblings are holding things together he wants to be there to offer his support, love and thanks. He wants to see his dad whilst his dad is still...well, his dad. With dementia you never know how fast things will develop and he's scared (as we all are) of what will be left of Grandad when we see him again. He simply wants to see his dad.

As for me I'd love to see my parents. I want to hug my mum and tell her her long, white hair looks amazing and that she's one of the strongest and most determined woman I know. That she is a role model to so many. I want to hug my dad and tell him that I know his recent stroke has scared him and we get that, it scared us too. That he's a fabulous father and grandfather. I want them to see their grandkids in person because I know they're desperate to. I want to hug my sister and say thank you in person for her being their for my parents and still being there for me even though I'm so far away. I want to tell them, in person, just how much I love them.

We all want to hug our dog, our beautiful boy who we miss so much. Our life, our family and our home is not complete without him. We want him snuggled on the sofa, we want to look into his beautiful big brown eyes and tell him how much we love him. We want to see him before he's too old and leaves this world. We want to spoil him and take him for walks and just be with him.

Santa, we love our life in Japan. But there's a guilt that hangs over you when you move away, a guilt that can't be assuaged. We're not there and we currently can't get there. All we want to do is offer hugs and see people face to face, to let them know we are still there, to let them know we love them. We can't see our friends and help them when they need it, we can't go for coffees or kids play dates. Sure we have friends here and friends that are amazing, but that doesn't mean we don't miss our friends back home. We made a choice to move over 6000 miles away but we thought it would't be so hard to go back.

I'm not asking for anything material. I don't care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree. The best present I could have, Santa, is to clink glasses with family and friends over a festive table, to hug and wish Merry Christmas, to peel carrots with my mum in the kitchen whilst singing carols are the top of our voices, to see our dog lying in front of the fire, to put too much brandy on the christmas pudding and singe it around the edges as it burns off whilst I carry it across my parents beautifully decorated kitchen. Santa, my parents taught me the meaning of Christmas and thanks to them I love it and so do my kids. We feel the magic starting earlier every year and our eldest is already listening to Christmas music now in September. She is our spirit of Christmas. 

I know that we're lucky - we have a roof over our heads, good food on the table and a nice house. We are safe and we are lucky and we are grateful that we get to explore a beautiful country. I understand that a lot of people may ask you for difficult things this year, it's been tough on all of us. Darling Santa, if you can grant this one wish for Christmas I will be eternally grateful. Please help us be able to go home for Christmas. We believe in you.

Lots of faithful love,

Becky Xxx

PS #staysafe