Season of Remembrance

Season of Joy

“He who lives in our mind is near though he may actually be far away; but he who is not in our heart is far though he may really be near.”

Chanakya (280 BCE)

This season always takes our thoughts to the people who aren't with us. People we love, who may be far away, or those who are gone from this plane of existence. My parents, for instance, and my sisters, grandmothers and grandfathers. We remember them vividly and mentally replay occasions with them, and memories of past holidays. My mother always had a big, fat, fresh Christmas tree, decked out with colored lights and loads of ornaments and tinsel. She said she did it for Missy, my little sister with cerebral palsy, but I suspect she truly did it because she loved it. She found it impossible to do anything solely for herself. In my mind's eye, I see her now throwing those awful silver strings of “icicles” on the tree in clumps that we would still be sweeping out from under furniture in July.

I recall a Christmas in Raleigh when my brother-in-law, bless his heart, was trying to get a prickly pine tree into the tree-stand. My sister, sitting on the sofa in her bathrobe and house slippers, with a cup of hot-chocolate in her hand, was supervising. “No, Fred, that's too far to the left. Now it's too far to the right.” This went on for about forty minutes with him being lacerated by the tree's stiff branches. Finally, he simply picked up the tree, stand and all, opened the door and hurled it into the back yard. I'm still laughing about that one.

I received the annual Christmas letter from my friend, Renae, that included a photo of her family in front of their home in Nebraska. She, her husband and two sons, each with an arm around a tinseled animal—chicken, hunting dog, cow, and cat. Such a farm family! She always sends a newsy letter about their year—reminds me of my own decades of raising sons, and all the fun and work and joy that held. Which, of course, leads to memories of our past Christmases together.

This is a time for remembrance and sweet thoughts. Those who are gone are truly quite near, and they are remembering, too. Over the years, many people come and go from our lives. Each of them leaves an imprint, some more deep and indelible than others. We pull up their memory and have a good visit. It's one of the many reasons this is the season of Joy.

                                                        In the Spirit,

                                                              Jane