How
is everyone feeling this morning? Elated, excited, or ‘it’s over till next
year! Was it a sensual experience? Mine was, in a different sort of way. Still
enjoyable just different!
Just
before Christmas I picked up on a blog post by Jenni Parry on Christmas
traditions are yours tacky, tragic or a treasure? http://www.embraceordinary.com/24/12/2012/traditions-are-yours-tacky-a-tragedy-waiting-to-happen-or-a-treasure?
My
reply was Christmas traditions as I knew them have disappeared as a result of life
changes and family challenges over the past 10 years. As I look back and I have
been, those memories remain vivid. Back to my childhood the men sitting round
the dining room table before breakfast drinking rum and milk (could you imagine
anything worse), while the women went to church. Then ham and eggs for
breakfast...my Dad indulging in that shocker of a habit ‘eating the white
fat’...years later my husband thinking he was helping cut the ham and stripped
the fat away, like we did! Very un-Christmas like words were spoken!
Mum
slaved over a hot stove, eating a hot dinner as we all sweltered, indulging in
pudding and custard excited when you found a threepence. Later eating
watermelon round the tank stand, juice running down your chin (oh dear now I
cut it up now and eat it with a fork off a plate) ...mud crab and fresh bread
for Christmas night...funny it all seems to be food related...food and family.
It must have had some effect, after I got married and went to live in Mackay,
that first year, and every year after we had seafood Christmas lunch. Those
first couple of years I felt all guilty for not slaving over the hot stove... not
guilty enough though...because we did it again and again! Then suddenly I
decided it was Ok to enjoy whatever we chose to do…and the benefit was less
stress for all concerned. We often place such high expectations on ourselves!
Today as I reflect over the
past few days spent with family, it is the time spent with my grandchildren
that mean most to me. My 5 year old granddaughter Amy chose to sleep with me,
of course we wrote a letter to Santa telling him where she was sleeping. Next
year Pippa will be old enough to join in…heaven forbid 2 children in bed with
me…
We had had a BBQ at the
beach Christmas Eve , driven round looking at the Christmas lights and now
home reading a story before bed, Amy
then announced ‘we’ would put the light out… so much for my having a read
before sleep…I lay propped and this little voice says… ‘Grannie Di you are not
going to sleep you still have your glasses on!’ Sprung, I thought I would slip
out after she had fallen asleep.
Amy’s concern was I would
not wake her early…no need to worry…at 5am she was insistently tapping my arm
reminding me it was Christmas morning, the joy and happiness on her face was
priceless. The anticipation of what she might receive, the magic in childhood
and childhood dreams flitting across her little face.
Gift time took me back to
the simple gifts I received as a child, the gifts given to my children and now
my grandchildren. Have you noticed children use all their senses are totally in
the moment, sight (looking), hearing (shaking), touching (squeezing and
anticipation), smell (what can it be?) and taste (can I eat it?) They do it
simply, in the moment, totally absorbed and with absolute joy. What a gift to
be able to share these moments in time.
Then the modern adaption and
a 5 year old's lateral thinking… Amy’s friend found an IPod case in a shop and
excitedly said to her Mum, if you buy me this case Santa will have to buy me
the IPod won’t he?’
Whatever happens in life our
memories are precious, what we do today creates the memories for future
generations in our family. So how am I
feeling? Excited, elated and sensual…all my senses were engaged! I am so very grateful
for the memories of Christmas 2012.
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