A series of essays….
HOLIDAY REFLECTIONS
….as seen through my eyes!
By: Jacqueline E Hughes
While the dust was still settling and all of the packages, large and small and everything in between, had been torn open with squeals of joy and delight, my daughter and I had a moment to sit down, relax, talk, and express our relief at making it successfully through another Christmas. Buying gifts for mature children and grandchildren can be much more stressful than purchasing toys for when they were younger. This was something I recalled with my own children as teenagers, even though there’s been a substantial amount of time between experiences.
The hot tea I was enjoying was discovered in my Santa stocking moments before and was a fine blend of caramel, vanilla, and black tea that truly hit the spot. Ali settled for a tall glass of ice water with her feet resting comfortably on the ottoman that resides in front of the brown, leather couch. Ahh, it’s so nice to put my feet up and do absolutely nothing for a few minutes, she said. And, you wholeheartedly deserve a rest, I replied. Between working full time, raising two teenagers and all that implies, then adding Christmas shopping and wrapping into the mix this time of year—it feels special to just be able to sit and talk with you.
Everyone else had made a point to take the dogs out for a nice, long walk after dinner. And, even though the sky was steely gray and offered no signs of improvement throughout the day, its cool, overcast effect wrapped us in a wintery embrace even without the much anticipated snowfall on Christmas Day. We were satisfied to be together, to share laughter, eat a lovingly prepared meal, and see the movie Wonka at the KP Cinema downtown later in the evening.
Eric and I put a lot of thought into what to get you and dad. We knew it had to be special and perfect and so we threw many ideas out there before making a final decision, Ali said, as she shifted the position of her legs on the cozy ottoman. Finally, we decided on your tickets for a play at the Wharton Center. Sorry you have to wait until May, though.
That doesn’t bother me in the least, I said. What a great way to appreciate a walk through the MSU campus in the springtime before the play begins. Looking out of the picture window, I could observe our little tribe making their way back home but now on the opposite side of the street, our dogs leading the two grandchildren down the hill. What a peaceful moment in time.
Taking another sip of her water, I knew that Ali had something else to say and I closed my eyes to allow her soft words to roll across my presence and offer me their gentle hug. What she had to say next made so much sense to me and has been something her dad and I had been pondering since moving back up to Michigan over five years ago after his retirement.
Mom, I know that you and dad have been trying to rid yourselves of ‘stuff’ over the past few years. Am I right? I nodded my head in full agreement and added a smile for good measure. Well, that was exactly what I was thinking and I said to Eric that instead of ‘stuff,’ you and dad need to be collecting new experiences along the way. My mind was shaking up and down as she spoke. So that was our reasoning for getting you the theatre tickets this year for Christmas.
Ali could not have spoken truer words. Since the move back to Michigan, Dan and I have been putting garage sale items in boxes down in the basement with the idea of having a huge sale this coming spring. The pile of sale items seems to be growing larger than our ‘keep’ boxes, finally. Ali’s emphasis on collecting experiences over stuff was very much in line with our way of thinking and to have her point this out to me was honest and exciting at the same time.
 |
WE CELEBRATE THE TREES—LARGE, SMALL AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN! |
Sweetheart, you are absolutely right! My grin acknowledged the happiness I felt at our daughter’s intuitiveness. She was being very honest and open to vulnerability right then and I listened to her honesty with every fiber of my being. Is it true that the daughter evolves into the mother (offering sage advice) as time rolls along?
Taking our dog for a long walk is a new adventure each time. Planning a trip out West next year in our new vehicle is fun and exciting to think about. Creating action our primary incentive; keeping the body and mind in motion our main goal. And, yes—minimizing our lives of not only stuff, but everything that tends to bog us down, makes us feel heavy instead of light, inhibits our freedom to come and go at our own pace in time, is a goal worth achieving.
To have our daughter and son-in-law encourage these actions with the hope of having us collect new experiences each and every day—well, that meant so much to us after opening the handsomely wrapped gift that contained theater tickets to the Broadway show, SIX in May!!
Right before the troops clamored back inside after their own adventure, I went over to give my daughter a warm hug and said, I love you so much for helping me make sense out of this life, out of growing older and still learning to appreciate what should be important to your dad and me.
I love you both very much and that’s the easy part, she said. We just want to see you happy and not bogged down with fixing up this house 24/7. You and dad have always traveled and taken us on amazing adventures throughout the years. You’ve introduced us to plays and how to discover the importance of doing things while opening our eyes to everything! Thank you for this.
Talk about making one’s heart sing with joy! After our talk, I felt ready for just about anything. Right about then the front door flew open and in came the whole gang, wet dogs and all. Happy, shining Christmas Day faces were depositing shoes in the boot tray and hanging coats on hooks while the dogs were ushered to their own crates to dry off. The bedlam lasted only a few moments and Ali and I walked into the kitchen to organize holiday desserts for everyone to enjoy.
I love our conversations when time allows us to be open and free. We smiled at one another before calling everyone in after they’d washed their hands and settled down a bit. I felt the joy of having family around me and believed I could take on the world after the time I spent with Ali. Life is good and it’s often after these small moments together that we learn to cherish their importance in our lives.
Bring it on! I am ready to tackle anything this New Year has to offer. Growing older really means opening up to and being alive to new experiences and planning as many as possible along our journey through time.
 |
CLOCKS CELEBRATING NEW BEGINNINGS |
Happy New Year to everyone! Start planning a new experience of your own…today!
Copyright © 2023 by Jacqueline E Hughes
All rights reserved
