Happy Holidays!

Hello, I hope that the holiday season is off to a wonderful start for you and yours!

My parents immigrated to the States, but my Mom always took holiday season to heart and tried her best to create a warm family home. We celebrated Christmas every year with a tree that my brother and I decorated, stockings, and presents, with relatives often visiting for a big home-cooked dinner. If there was snow on the ground, my brother and I would go tobogganing down the local hill.

My parents had a habit of getting my brother and I the same presents each year – it was one way they tried to avoid any hint of favoritism. As a result, my brother and I would open our presents at the same time to avoid blowing the surprise for either one of us. It also probably reduced the quality of the presents – I remember getting a lot of sweaters.

One year, I was given a GI Joe helicopter toy by my parents – the Dragonfly. I was maybe 11 years old. There was some assembly required. I took a little knife from the kitchen and was freeing the pieces from the plastic in the living room. The knife slipped and I cut my left hand hard enough for it to start bleeding immediately. I jumped up and yelled, “Get a band-aid! Get a band-aid!” I was still at a point where I thought band-aids miraculously healed everything. My Mom, without missing a beat, took me to the bathroom and ran my hand under the sink, inspecting the cut, which turned out to be no big deal. She put on some Neosporin, a piece of gauze and a band-aid on top. In less than 5 minutes I was happily back on the floor putting my toy together again.

I associate this time of year with boardgames and family time.

As Evelyn and I have had kids of our own, we have tried to create the same sense of warmth and belonging and comfort for our boys. Neither of us has a big family, so there’s a bit of pressure involved. It has made me appreciate what my Mom did every year all the more.

Who or what are you grateful for?

I hope that you have the chance to spend time with those most important to you this Holiday Season, and that you help create some memories that will last a lifetime. Happy Holidays!