I asked myself this morning: if you could give your readers a Christmas present, what would it be?
If I was a better businesswoman, I would answer that question with: a new book all of you would pay gobs of money to get. But this is the season of giving, not taking. Since I’m not looking to get coal in my stocking, I’ll skip that idea. If I was a magician or genie, I might conjure up a wad of cash to hand over to everyone; who doesn’t need a wad of cash? Sorry to disappoint you, dear readers—I have no special powers.
So I’m left with wishes, and those wishes have to be based on what I appreciate most in my own life right now.
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I’d start with time. My two best friends in this area are running particularly short on this commodity. One is caring for grandkids almost full time, a development she could not have for foreseen a decade ago when her biggest worry in life was her own adult child. The other is about to pick up roots and move across country, in the middle of an already hectic work schedule. And these are just my own friends: I see the shortage of time to do things on the faces of every person who hurries by my table at arts and crafts events or collides with other shoppers in the aisles of stores.
Meanwhile, I have more time on my hands than I could have envisioned just a year ago. With both my husband and I losing the responsibility of caregiving for elderly parents recently, we have more minutes and hours than we’ve had in many years. I’m savoring this holiday season simply because I have the time to do so. I wish the same for you.
Second would be that all of you have family close to you. It’s funny I would say that now since both my mom and my daughter moved and my father-in-law passed away. The size of the family around me shrank this year. But what this has done is make me appreciate the minutes I’ve had with all of them, draw closer to those who still live close by and look forward to the time when I’ll reside close to my sisters and nieces and their families, as well as Mom and my daughter and nephew.
The third is that this family also includes friends. Again, one of my friends is moving cross-country and the other is so busy we find it hard to get together. They are both in my heart this season and though we didn’t have much holiday time this year, it’s their friendship and the friendship of other good friends that is one of the blessings I’ve appreciated most all the years of my life.
So readers, I wish you family and friends and the time to savor it all. Merry Christmas.
Genilee Swope Parente
swopeparente 