Other things may change us, but we start and end with family. — Anthony Brandt
For me Christmas Day is about family. As a child, all of my mother’s family congregated at Grandmother Erwin’s. In Little Rock, we may have had two Christmas dinners and three unwrappings, but it was about family first and foremost. Now, we may not be able to all be together but telephones, texts, skypes, and videos keep us close as possible. We reach out to family and family reaches out to us.
When Christmas day occurred during my sabbatical most of the men in the monastery didn’t receive a family visit, nor packages, for a lot not even a phone call. People were sensitive to each other’s thoughts and space about the holiday, some wishing to celebrate and some trying to take it as just another day on sabbatical. Although, as Seinfeld says, “There is no such thing as fun for the whole family,” Christmas does bring family together in a way that no other does.
The day after Christmas we “begin again” hopefully for all a day where we rise afresh, washed anew with the presence of family.
Leave a Reply +