Journal Entry: Christmas Day 2021

 

 

Christmas Day 2021.
Saturday.

This morning when I woke under a pile of covers I was surprised that it was 11am (the latest I’ve slept in a long time) and also that the house was relatively warm. It being unseasonably warm outside—near 50f—the house itself was at a balmy 59f. So instead of lighting the wood stove I just used a small electric heater next to my desk. It has rained all day.

This is the first year I have not had a real Christmas tree. I simply could not afford it. A cheap artificial one at the dollar store was a fraction of the cost. When I plugged it in this morning and while waiting for coffee to brew I looked at it for a few minutes. Some of the ornaments on it were at least three generations old. I remember being handed them by my mother as she put hooks on them when I was just a child. Such fond memories. I was conscious of this as I handed them to my grown son as he and I decorated what I’ve called our “sad little Charlie Brown tree.” But as I looked at it today I realized it wasn’t sad at all. It was beautiful, and that my mother was standing right there with me.

As I've gotten older Christmas has taken on new meanings for me. A time to reflect. To begin again. A sort of personal re-birth on the inside. To put it into today's terms, sort of like clearing your cache and rebooting.

"So this is Christmas, and what have you done. Another year over, and a new one just begun." ~John Lennon