Dec. 25: A grandparent's view of Christmas

 Normally, I disallow Christmas-themed titles for note-a-day. The reason for this is that I have written about it, exhaustively, in the past and am hoping for new territory to explore.

But I have to be pragmatic. I've been doing this project, off and on, for seven years now. When I ask people for titles, it's not uncommon to get something that I've already done before. So I guess I should keep my complaints to a minimum, especially since my constant request for titles has started to become irritating (a few of my contacts tell me they're fatigued with the project and would rather not participate anymore.)

So my dad asks me to write about a grandparent's view of Christmas. And since his day fell on December 25, I'm not going to deny him. That's serendipity, after all.

Unfortunately, I'm not a grandparent. I am a parent though and I get immense joy giving stuff to B-Man and Kelsey. Sometime in adolescence, most of us figure out that it's better to give than to receive. Certainly, my most precious Christmas memories are of me being the giver. One Christmas season, when money was tight, I asked my mom for some luxurious item and she told me no, that she couldn't even afford to buy herself a new coat. I had some magic show money and my sister had some babysitting money so we went out and bought her a new coat. I still remember how touched she look. Come to think of it, that might have been her birthday, not Christmas, but who cares. The two events are only about six weeks off.

-

My dad, I think, would have got to celebrate his first Christmas, as a grandfather, in 2004. His first grandchild, Sasha, would have been three months old then. I doubt she remembers much about that Christmas but I bet my dad remembers plenty. Little Sasha was likely spoiled. Today, he has more grandchildren and he spoils them too.

I myself will probably be a grandfather sometime over the next two decades.  I wonder how I will see Christmas then.

-

I am grateful to Ash for letting me take the B-Man home to Calgary for Christmas in 2017. I promised her, when B-Man was born, that I would never take him on Christmas or his birthday, that she should always be with him to celebrate these high days. So it was an act of generosity on her part when she told me to put him on an airplane that one December. She wanted B-Man's grandparents to have the full Christmas experience one year.

My dad later said that it was his favourite Christmas ever.

Sadly, this year will likely be the worst.


 

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