We are home! And Christmas is over for yet another year.
I heard a lot of people complain this year about the obligations of the holiday season. Even I wrote about it once or twice in December as the month was piling up with various commitments. I heard a lot of people express frustration towards what Christmas was becoming. Like most of us, these people were travelling to visit family and finding themselves in cramped malls in the weeks leading up to Christmas struggling to find gifts that have become the standard of the holidays. By this loose definition, then yes, I can understand the chaotic and overbearing feeling that rolls around at this time each year. However, one only has to experience the darker side of Christmas just once in order to fully appreciate having to go any distance to wake up on Christmas morning surrounded by those that you love.
My mother and I would have wonderful Christmas celebrations when I was growing up. We would spend the month of December decorating and baking for family. We would spend Christmas Eve going to church and celebrating with French-Canadian holiday traditions. Christmas morning would be spent around a big brunch and a warm fireplace followed by a huge Christmas dinner with family. I loved it and while looking back, I’m sure that Christmas was very stressful for my mother, she never gave the impression that she struggled with it. I am very grateful to her for that because I have grown to love the holidays for countless reasons, most of which includes food and family!
After my Mom moved out west, our ability to see each other became very limited. Each year though, I would ask her if she was coming home for Christmas and each year, she would tell me that she didn’t want to have to deal with the travelling and the craziness of the city during the holidays. To me, this translated to the belief that the effort to get here wasn’t worth spending the holiday with me. This broke my heart. As a student, flying out to see her was never an option so in turn, I ended up spending many holidays working or with extended family, but it was never the same as it was when I was growing up.
It’s easy to forget that the suicide rates increase dramatically and that depression plagues the holidays for many. While it’s easy to complain about shopping, travelling and the standard family conversation each year, these things are the tangible proof of our single most important blessing; to love and be loved. For many of us, we neglect to see that beyond all the gifts, Christmas is still about giving; giving of our time, giving of our energy and most of all, giving of ourselves. We do all of this because Christmas isn’t just about us. While it may seem obligatory and inconvenient for some of us, it likely matters a great deal to someone else and that alone, is a reason to do it.
I have just returned from having spent my 5th Christmas in the Smyth house and each year, I suffer from pains of sadness when we initially leave. What is normally a seven and a half hour drive took us nearly ten hours last night. But regardless of the time spent on the highways and at busy rest stops, I am reminded time and time again of what an incredible gift it is to be wanted in that home at this time of the year. I can’t think of any other place that I’d rather be. The love, joy, generosity and sense of belonging is overwhelming at times and reminds me so much of Christmas from my younger days.
Each year is a bit different and yet, always the same! This year, we had a big brunch on Christmas morning with the family and spent the afternoon opening gifts. By Christmas night though, while everyone else was busy having a big turkey dinner, we were busy cursing our 1,000 piece annual family puzzle while eating taco dip, drinking Bacardi Breezers and singing God Bless America!!!! You really had to be there to appreciate it but, in a nutshell…I blame Celine Dion!!! How can one not be willing to drive to the moon and back for memories like that?!?!?
On Christmas morning, a baby was born to save us from ourselves. He later died so that we could spend eternity belonging to God’s family. That was a huge sacrifice to make on our behalf. I think that the very least we can do is appreciate the family that we have here on earth in the meantime. And if you have a family that is willing spend six hours putting together a $5 puzzle with you…then you don’t have any reason not to love them!!!
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.
I heard a lot of people complain this year about the obligations of the holiday season. Even I wrote about it once or twice in December as the month was piling up with various commitments. I heard a lot of people express frustration towards what Christmas was becoming. Like most of us, these people were travelling to visit family and finding themselves in cramped malls in the weeks leading up to Christmas struggling to find gifts that have become the standard of the holidays. By this loose definition, then yes, I can understand the chaotic and overbearing feeling that rolls around at this time each year. However, one only has to experience the darker side of Christmas just once in order to fully appreciate having to go any distance to wake up on Christmas morning surrounded by those that you love.
My mother and I would have wonderful Christmas celebrations when I was growing up. We would spend the month of December decorating and baking for family. We would spend Christmas Eve going to church and celebrating with French-Canadian holiday traditions. Christmas morning would be spent around a big brunch and a warm fireplace followed by a huge Christmas dinner with family. I loved it and while looking back, I’m sure that Christmas was very stressful for my mother, she never gave the impression that she struggled with it. I am very grateful to her for that because I have grown to love the holidays for countless reasons, most of which includes food and family!
After my Mom moved out west, our ability to see each other became very limited. Each year though, I would ask her if she was coming home for Christmas and each year, she would tell me that she didn’t want to have to deal with the travelling and the craziness of the city during the holidays. To me, this translated to the belief that the effort to get here wasn’t worth spending the holiday with me. This broke my heart. As a student, flying out to see her was never an option so in turn, I ended up spending many holidays working or with extended family, but it was never the same as it was when I was growing up.
It’s easy to forget that the suicide rates increase dramatically and that depression plagues the holidays for many. While it’s easy to complain about shopping, travelling and the standard family conversation each year, these things are the tangible proof of our single most important blessing; to love and be loved. For many of us, we neglect to see that beyond all the gifts, Christmas is still about giving; giving of our time, giving of our energy and most of all, giving of ourselves. We do all of this because Christmas isn’t just about us. While it may seem obligatory and inconvenient for some of us, it likely matters a great deal to someone else and that alone, is a reason to do it.
I have just returned from having spent my 5th Christmas in the Smyth house and each year, I suffer from pains of sadness when we initially leave. What is normally a seven and a half hour drive took us nearly ten hours last night. But regardless of the time spent on the highways and at busy rest stops, I am reminded time and time again of what an incredible gift it is to be wanted in that home at this time of the year. I can’t think of any other place that I’d rather be. The love, joy, generosity and sense of belonging is overwhelming at times and reminds me so much of Christmas from my younger days.
Each year is a bit different and yet, always the same! This year, we had a big brunch on Christmas morning with the family and spent the afternoon opening gifts. By Christmas night though, while everyone else was busy having a big turkey dinner, we were busy cursing our 1,000 piece annual family puzzle while eating taco dip, drinking Bacardi Breezers and singing God Bless America!!!! You really had to be there to appreciate it but, in a nutshell…I blame Celine Dion!!! How can one not be willing to drive to the moon and back for memories like that?!?!?
On Christmas morning, a baby was born to save us from ourselves. He later died so that we could spend eternity belonging to God’s family. That was a huge sacrifice to make on our behalf. I think that the very least we can do is appreciate the family that we have here on earth in the meantime. And if you have a family that is willing spend six hours putting together a $5 puzzle with you…then you don’t have any reason not to love them!!!
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.
1 comment:
Great post Gen. I know I experience allot of emotion at Christmas and I am very thankful for having some amazing people in my life. They definitely ease the pain. Glad to hear you have the same in your life.
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