Christmas 2020

 

It is Christmas morning.

It is a great time for reflection as I have done in previous years.

Yes, this year is different.  Yes, our gatherings have been and will be smaller.  I wrote about that yesterday.  Yes, I was feeling blue about the lesser Christmas gatherings and for the family I would not be seeing this year. 

But, truly, it is a matter of attitude and perspective as most things are in life.  This is something I have to keep reminding myself.  Duh, I know this but need to be reminded often.

By the evening, it all changed.  Photos, calls, messages, and video came from loved ones.  It was good.  The world seemed as it should on Christmas Eve.  We were enjoying the smaller celebrations and family time. 

As I type, it is still dark, this house is still quiet, I am enjoying coffee in a Christmas mug, and I am writing this Christmas letter.  I am also getting photos of the East Coast Gavoors opening their presents.  I am not there.  They are not here.  But, I am enjoying their Christmas morning none the less.

Well, here is a great Christmas morning revelation and insight, while all our celebrations are less than we are used to or want, technology lessens the separation and isolation.  Duh #2.  Am I the last person on the planet to realize this?

It is not the gifts, the food, and the commercial hype that drives this holiday season.  It is, of course, the people in our lives.  It is the blessing of children and grandchildren, my mother and sisters, my mother in-law, my wife’s sister and brother, and their families.  It is our valued friends.  It matters not if they are down the street or half-way around the planet.  (This would be Duh #3 if you are keeping score.)

Last night, I got to talk to my friend Andres from Uruguay.  It is a yearly tradition.  I have been in touch with friends and family from Prague, Barcelona, Glendale, and even Palatine. 

I just got a text and photos from my daughter in LA.

People are indeed stirring and reaching out.  It is good.

In this relative world, in this pandemic year, these small things I took for granted are all blessings.  (Is this a full blown Duh?  Or just half a Duh?)  They are blessings that I need to be thankful for.  For some reason, this is too easy to forget in the day-to-day world of schedules, appointment, dang the car needs new tires, classes, grading, committee meetings, dealing with Ara’s incessant badgering about every little thing (OMG, he never stops), paying bills, taking out the trash, watching my lawn guys rake the leaves… oh the stress of it all.

Where was I?

Oh yes, it is the family and friends that make life wonderful.  It is easy for me to forget this simple truth.  I want to call it a lesson, because I have to keep learning and relearning it every year. 

I suspect that I am not alone in this.  Duh.

It is a good thing we have this holiday season from Thanksgiving to New Year’s with Christmas, for m
e, being the crown jewel, to remind me every year. Duh #5.

In this challenging, strange, pandemic year, the value of this truth, this lesson, is more profound than ever. (And this makes it 6 Duhs in total.)

Merry Christmas to one and all.