I don't want to go all negative by getting into a description of the dreadful occasions wrought by the ghost of Christmases past, so I'll just say that the holiday of all holidays was great this year, so much so that I felt like Christmas is finally what it's supposed to be.
The emphasis was on the family gathering and the shared meal. My sister Chris and I are now the matriarch and patriarch of the clan, which includes six nephews and nieces, one grand niece, and occasional attached boyfriends or girlfriends. Missing this year were my other sister Sue, recovering from knee replacement surgery, my nephew Trevor, working as a cook at a Colorado ski resort, and my daughter Rachel, snugged up with her boyfriend in their new Portland, Oregon home.
The gifting was short, limited, and more symbolic than lavish. That's as it should be. This holiday is not about stuff (not if I can help it).
It was so much fun I'm already looking forward to next year, and hoping everybody can be there, and there's no roster of the missing. This family, like so many others, has been fractured and divided so many times over the years that it's ready for an extended period of healing and growth.
God bless us every one.
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