Happy Christmas Eve

In the interest of peace on Earth and Good Will toward Men (Women, Other, Confusing Pronouns) I suggest that we put aside politics, social (whatever this is called) and put on our pretty clothes to enjoy the season with people we love and who love us.

Let Aunt Edna make whatever pronoun choices she’s able to make. Let Uncle Rudy get a little tipsy and talk about whatever craziness he’s on about this year.

Don’t waste your time annoying them by correcting their gaffes. Call it a Christmas Present to them. Allow your Mom & Dad to have a “traditional” couple of days without adding to family strife. 

Take a step back, put down your protest signs and social warrior agendas and take a breath.

Your families love you regardless of what you wear, how you identify, which bathroom you want to use, or what your political stance is. Turn off the news, put down your phone and actually be with the people you’ve chosen to spend the holiday with. Have a drink, tell a joke, go to the traditional family church service. Eat well and be present and accepting of your loved ones.

In other words, take a break from all the insanity of the world for a day or four. Watch  family movies together.

In my family there’s been a tradition of watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas“, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas“, “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation“, “Die Hard” (Yeah, I know Bruce Willis says it’s not a Christmas Movie), “The Bishops Wife“, “Donovans Reef“, “Operation Petticoat”, “A Christmas Story”, and we’ll often end Christmas Day with “Lethal Weapon” or “Alien” (Don’t ask!)

We eat leftovers, make popcorn, have beer, watch a few games, and enjoy each other. The children are running around with their new toys, and the technologically proficient among the assembled family members are setting up toys and new devices for the youngsters.

All this is Joyful chaos and it’s as much what isn’t said, as what is. Car keys are exchanged among the men and we take each other’s cars for spins around the neighborhood. We’re all comparing and contrasting the features of vehicles and there’s joy in the camaraderie. 

In my youth, this family gathering moved from home to home. At some point in the festivities, one by one, the men drifted out to the garage. Then magically, things that needed to be fixed at the host home were fixed. Timers, circuit breakers, pool filters, sprinkler systems, painting, stucco, you name it.

The projects that took time, get handled by the men because that’s how we showed each other we care. Many hands make light work.

Even today, each of our “Tribe” brings our respective skills to the table and give the gift of those skills or our hands. The  children, intrigued by what the fathers, grandfathers, and uncles are up to come out to “help” in the process they learn how to do some of these things for themselves.

By default, the host homes were more often the elder members of our family. So for them, gatherings were a double gift. They got to have the whole family under one roof and the chores that they had a tough time completing got done without fuss and without asking.

These are the things I count as blessings of not coming from an “affluent” family. We valued each other and understood actions could be expressions of love and caring.

My family is smaller now. Many of the elders aren’t with us and my generation is becoming the elders. The difference is that we’re spread all over the country and don’t get together as often as we should.

It occurred to me that we often “create” families where ever we are. I miss the family gatherings. Maybe it’s time for my family traditions to be expanded and “rebooted”.

Maybe if we all brought the best of our family traditions to our communities we could spread a little joy that would last through the year.

Well, I’ve dug the snow out from in front of my neighbors homes. (They weren’t home when the storm hit) They’ll have a easy drive to their homes when they get back.  

I’m thinking some fresh baked cookies might be a nice touch for the holidays…

I hope your time with your loved ones is a time of making good memories and showing them that you love them. We all need to know we’re loved.