Christmas morning i woke up around 8. i did the morning routine, washed all the remaining dishes in the sink, straightened up the house. it was 10. Meg's family wasn't due until 1230, but they called (at 1230) to say they had just left so expect them around 2pm. In the glorious 2.5 hours between completing ALL the housework, and their phone call at 1230, i sat in the living room, with only the christmas tree and some icicle lights lit up. I had a cup of tea, the one that tastes like burning christmas tree, and i read the entire New York Times (from last Sunday) in the stillness and quiet of the late morning.
I know i raved about having nothing but leisure time ahead when i finished the semester, but lets face it, that was crap. It was a week and a half before christmas, and stuff needed to get done. plus there was a lot of other stuff that got done whether it needed it or not. so the honest truth is that those 2.5 hours were the only two that i can remember when i could say i had nothing to do. my apartment was as clean as it could get, my wife was in bed, the animals taken care of, no errands to run (nothing was open anyway), and not a thought in my head that came from a to do list. So i read the paper, and i thought about you. all of you. i thought about my friends and family, even those i haven't talked to recently, and i imagined them (you) happily enjoying christmas morning with their family and loved ones. seriously. it was a wonderful, peaceful, and happy thought that filled me with warm contentment.
i get this sort of freedom once in a great while, only when travelling, i call it the "airport syndrome". when you get to the airport, bus station, train terminal, you are entirely isolated in the moment. if you forgot something at home, well, too bad. didn't pick up the dry cleaning, it'll wait. there is nothing to do but wait. it is a magical time when i can shake off my mental to do list, and just be still. then you have to get on the plane, and don't get me wrong, i love that too, but for different reasons, and you get all cramped and the guy next to you is smelly, and the child behind you REALLY, REALLY wants that juicebox, and you have to fish your ipod out of your carry on that is wedged between the floor and the seat in front of you, thats all awesome too.
I hope you all got a few moments of peace, and know that whatever you were doing between 10-1230 on christmas, i was thinking of you.
I know i raved about having nothing but leisure time ahead when i finished the semester, but lets face it, that was crap. It was a week and a half before christmas, and stuff needed to get done. plus there was a lot of other stuff that got done whether it needed it or not. so the honest truth is that those 2.5 hours were the only two that i can remember when i could say i had nothing to do. my apartment was as clean as it could get, my wife was in bed, the animals taken care of, no errands to run (nothing was open anyway), and not a thought in my head that came from a to do list. So i read the paper, and i thought about you. all of you. i thought about my friends and family, even those i haven't talked to recently, and i imagined them (you) happily enjoying christmas morning with their family and loved ones. seriously. it was a wonderful, peaceful, and happy thought that filled me with warm contentment.
i get this sort of freedom once in a great while, only when travelling, i call it the "airport syndrome". when you get to the airport, bus station, train terminal, you are entirely isolated in the moment. if you forgot something at home, well, too bad. didn't pick up the dry cleaning, it'll wait. there is nothing to do but wait. it is a magical time when i can shake off my mental to do list, and just be still. then you have to get on the plane, and don't get me wrong, i love that too, but for different reasons, and you get all cramped and the guy next to you is smelly, and the child behind you REALLY, REALLY wants that juicebox, and you have to fish your ipod out of your carry on that is wedged between the floor and the seat in front of you, thats all awesome too.
I hope you all got a few moments of peace, and know that whatever you were doing between 10-1230 on christmas, i was thinking of you.
2 comments:
Well, thanks! We were getting grandpa to Fresno and eating Christmas dinner about 12:15... thanks for thinking about us!
Love, MOM
(Do you know you drive me crazy with NO CAPS in you writing? It's the teacher in me!)
Sorry, that's "your writing"!
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