Thursday, December 24, 2015

Three Things: Christmas Things




Happy Christmas Eve Friends, 
I am sitting in the living room of my dear friends Jonny and Lisa. A few moments ago we were happily chatting and sipping Bailey's when catastrophe struck. A cry was heard from the bedroom. Jonny went to investigate. Baby Nora (age 2) had vomited. Everywhere. It is actually hard to believe that such a small human could contain that much substance. Well, let's move on from this topic. I am sure that Jonny and Lisa would be glad for me not to go too much into the details of their middle child's gastronomical misadventures. Let's talk about Christmas, shall we? I would like to talk about things I love about Christmas. To be specific: I would like to talk about Three Things I Love About Christmas.

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Thing Number One - My Family is Together: As you know I live in America while my parents and two of my brothers live in Europe. My oldest brother and I get to fly out to Europe once a year to be all together. It is a very special time. There is no group of people on Earth who have so much in common. The other day my dad was talking about how for me and my brothers there is a very unique relationship. When we are with English speakers we express the English speaking side of our personalities. When we are with Czech speakers we express our Czech sides. But there are very few people on the planet who understand both languages well enough to understand both sides of our personalities. That means that when I am with my brothers I am with people who can appreciate me from several angles. I sometimes lament the fact that key people in my life know me either as only one or the other. Christmastime means that for a couple weeks I will be understood. 






Thing Number Two - Christmas Dinner: We are not a family of cooks. Sheldon's family is. But the Tills cook to survive, it is not an art form that comes to us naturally. So on Christmas day we have a tradition. We choose the food that we all like the most and that requires the least amount of preparation. For instance we used to order Chinese food. Once we went to the only restaurant in the area that served buffalo chicken wings and brought home a huge Tupperware of them three days before Christmas. Lately our favourite option is Indian food from boxes. We hoard boxes of Indian food that we bring from the States and foreign food stores, make a huge pot of rice and have a meal that no one stressed about preparing and everyone enjoys. I like the way this tradition effectively kills anxiety over food on Christmas day, minimises stress and appeals to all parties while still being a treat. 






Thing Number Three - Nighttime: Since I was about thirteen years old Christmas stopped being as thrilling as it was when I was a child. I just lost the magic feeling of presents, expectancy and the other things that make Christmas thrilling and lovely for a lot of people. I don't think I am cynical. I just find it hard to be excited. I always feel that loss when Christmas comes. I am sad that I can't feel magic during the time of year that Christ's birth is celebrated. But there are a few moments during the season that manage to bring back a spark of that feeling They are like pinpoints of light that pierce through my Grinch-like exterior. One of them happened this evening as my family and I walked home from the Christmas Eve service on the town square. The night was absolutely clear and deep blue with a full moon. For a few seconds my heart filled with joy and anticipation. 




1 comment:

  1. Lucy Rose, you haven't posted in so long! Hope all is well in the writing life. Come back soon :)

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