Christmas

“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!”

Dr. Seuss

Once upon a time there was a Christmas at Club Med in Ixtapa, Mexico with Santa coming in on a surfboard.There was skiiing in Steamboat Springs and beaches in Puerto Valllarta and Cancun. There were a lot of skiing and ice skating Christmases when I was growing up.

There were Christmases after my husband left. There was one in San Francisco where my daughter danced and I contemplated suicide (I’m not the type that does it – you can’t use mileage).

There were many Christmases in Palm Springs and New York City with family, holiday windows and lots of theatre. Christmases at home meant Christmas Eve dinners, Christmas Day open houses, Christmas movie with deli or with Chinese food.

My Christmases have varied throughout the years. Some years I was lonely. Some years I was happy. Each year was different and if I did not try to hang on to the past, each Christmas was special in its own way.

There were Christmases with couples, babies, small kids, teenagers, adult children and grandparents. There were Christmases with family, family friends, old friends, new friends and there are Christmases alone.

Christmas is part of the human experience. It is not the overly commercialized “Holidays” that the media would like us to believe it is. It is a time of nostalgia, remembering how you used to feel about Christmas as a kid, remembering loss of innocence, a family member, pet or time that once was.

You have to celebrate Christmas, your way. Don’t worry about what other people are doing, what people on TV are doing, what you think you should be doing or what others think you should be doing,

You are creating your story. The story of what it was like to live here and be you on Christmas. Everything changes but our memories. These are the stories we hang on to. It is our stories that connect us to people. Every Christmas adds another chapter to the Christmas story. They are not all wonderful – for everyone. But I think if you look back on a lifetime of Christmas memories there will be many happy moments.

This is a repost of an old blog. This Christmas involves ham and potato latkes, walking on the beach and jewelry. It sounds like it will be good one.

Happy Holidays and Fly Safe,

JAZ