There’s nothing like a little bit of Christmas in the shops in October to make you go … “ummm what?” The pumpkins have not even got boring yet and here we are ho-hoing our ways towards the end of December. I don’t want to race towards the holidays, I want to savor every twinkly card that arrives in the mail, I want to feel the pulse of the Christmas music and get nostalgic about yuletides past. Why is everyone in such a rush these days?
We realized that on our road trip up and over the western States that, truly, everyone is in a super hurry to go someplace, and they don’t care who they hurt to get there. We almost got side-swiped several times, bashed into, battered, bruised more times than I care to remember on our adventures. And we were trying to stay away from everyone we saw! I still cannot believe my beautiful Explorer made it home in one piece. What is that all about?
News reports from Salinas describe the same thing — everyone is in a super hurry. To die, perhaps? That is a maudlin comment, but seriously, why is everyone in such an incredible rush all the time?
Stop and slow the pace, people. What are we all running towards or away from? Time waits for no one, I know that, but gosh it seems as if we are all on runaway trains without the hope of stopping at the next station. I remember thinking that was a good thing about the Covid days — and honestly, there was nothing good about those days, except that people slowed the heck down! They stayed at home and baked and gardened, cooked wholesome meals, walked the dogs and talked to their friends on Zoom or Facetime or whatever which way.
We read books and thought about life and thought about people, good and bad, during the covid days. We cleaned out areas, we cleaned up other areas, we planted fruits and vegetables. I recall thinking that we were undergoing a reset of the world. There was no choice. We had to slow it all the heck down.
And here we are, four years later, back to running, slamming, overtaking, undertaking, cutting off, flipping off. It really is a war zone out there. I often think of my lovely grandpa Harold. He died at the youthful age of 65 because he had no patience to wait behind a bus, which had stopped to pick people up. Yes, he overtook on a blind bend in his Ford Capri, he died instantly in the head-on collision and our family was never the same again.
What we would do on our recent adventures on the open road was to pull over when we were able, when we had an, obviously, Mr. Impatient behind us or especially a convoy. Rather than have The Impatients risk the lives of themselves and others, we made the choice every time to move on over and let the road-ragers zoom ahead of us. Sometimes we were thanked for our thoughtfulness, most often we were not, but it was the right thing to do. We were not in a hurry; we were on vacation. It seemed at times as if we were the only ones.
I’d like to do the same thing for the holidays this year, if that’s OK with everyone. I’d like to pull over and let you holiday chasers pass me by. Whether you are on the fast track to New Year’s celebrations or whatever is tooting your horn, I’m older now and I feel the need to savor the special times. I want to enjoy my family around the decorated table at Thanksgiving and give real thanks for all we have been able to do this year and hope to do next year. I want to relish the traditional food and the people who are there at the table to appreciate it with us. I want twinkly lights and lovely music, delicious food, fires and lights — I want it all, but I want it slowly.
This year we are staying home for the holidays, and I feel unusually relieved about that. Much as I love Europe during the holidays, it’s a race over there too and traveling over Christmas and New Year can be a true marathon in trying to locate your patience bone. We loved our Christmas and New Year away last year, we really did. But being home for the holidays takes it all a step back in preparation and chaos. Perhaps because we are getting older? Perhaps because, while you are getting older, you are equally realizing that there is less in front of you than there was behind, and you need to take the time you have left to make it all count, slowly, while you can. It’s not a sad or dramatic comment, it’s true.
“I want to be home for the holidays with my daughter,” husband noted, and he is not usually one for sentimental banter. “That’s fine,” I said. “We don’t have to celebrate the holidays in Europe. We can go in November, before Thanksgiving, much cheaper.” And that seemed like a fair compromise we could manage. Enjoy the holiday periods all over the place in different time zones and on varying land masses but be home with our immediate family when they wanted us there with them on the days that mattered.
We have a new granddaughter on the way and life is always subject to change, is it not. As I shipped the baby bassinet off to our son and daughter-in-law for the baby shower I wouldn’t be able to make, I thought about slowing it down all over again and savoring the arrival of Audrey Jane Jensen, a new baby in the family. She would be here, all being well, prior to Christmas and maybe even on her sister Madison’s 10th birthday. Wonderful things come to those who wait. Can we all just slow down a little bit more and make it count? Madison is going to be turning double digits and where did all that time go?
Slow down, seize the day, grasp the moments. I’m feeling that this is the year to do just that and we will enjoy it all the more.
