There’s a certain relief after the Christmas stuff is put away and life as we knew it before the holidays resumes. I know I am happy to put away the tree, ornaments, nativities, and busyness of the holiday season. It seems the whole time from Thanksgiving to New Years is a blur of activity and concerts, and “gotta do’s” and gifting and receiving, and deadlines and…and….and. About October I start dreading all that the season has become.
I heard a friend say that instead of gift giving, their family does “remember when” gifts. They do a sort of brain scavenger hunt rather than opening presents which they can’t afford. They’ve done this for many years and they look forward to Christmas together. I guess it goes something like this example. Apparently the two girls wore the same size shoes. So, gym days at school, they they shared the same pair of sneakers. The gift was a note remembering those days. Another was the memory of something they did, so the reminder was a week’s menu. Each of the girls made a meal a week so they would learn to cook. So they, together, remembered foods they ate.
Our daughter is our family’s champion gift giver. She starts early, thinks of meaningful gifts, especially for the children, follows ads and promotions, and even on her tight budget, delights everyone with her choices. She would make a great personal shopper for a business. She truly cares and tries to make everyone happy, shops all year, and therefore enjoys Christmas and other occasions with her “it looks like you!” gifts. On the other hand, she rarely receives a surprise gift herself in return. This year she pretty much knew what she was getting and still waits for two gifts from us because promises do not come until someday.
So, the rush to get the paintings back up on the wall, the tree packed away, and things stashed out of sight is now over, except for the major tasks still waiting: the office with stuff we took out of closets so other things would fit, the box for Goodwill, the boxes we saved in case we needed them that still grace chairs in the office. I still have a lot of work to do, and I think, more than anything, I get more and more tired when Christmas is over with every passing year. This wee, the first week when activities resume, I had volunteering for two Space Coast Symphony performances, met on zoom with my writing critique group, a class i taught on Monday afternoon, Magnolias breakfast and Bible Study yesterday, book club at the library and our small group meeting today, and finally, a free calendar tomorrow. There are so many things going on here at our senior residence that I’d like to do, but each day is jam packed with “stuff” to do. What happened to being retired, I’m wondering.
Then there are the nagging things I should be attending to that I’ve shoved to the back burner. I should be sending cards each day to my sister to who languishes in a rehab center for the third month in a row. Or, better yet, I should be there, not that I could do anything. I should be shopping for the food pantry, yet rush in and out of Publix for items I need for supper today. I should be reading the next book club book, or planning next week’s memoir class.
Today’s Bible verse I shared with my family is “Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” from 2 Corinthians. I pray for the strength I need for today: book club at the library and our first small group Zoom meeting of the year this afternoon. I’ll pray for our kids driving to Tampa for All State music festival and their convention with music teacher friends. I’ll try to clean up my apartment before my housekeeper comes (not that’s something I enjoy watching), and I might get some more clutter out of the way so life is a bit more pleasant and “back to normal.”
Can anyone else relate?
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