by Margi Bettelyoun

Created on: August 27, 2009

Goodbye Christmas

Goodbye Christmas ... the tree is gone, the lights are down, all the little ornaments are safely packed away. Everything Christmas is put on hold until you come again next year. It's a little sad to say goodbye. We were just getting used to you being here and now you are gone again. Dies that mean we need to treasure the moment more? We all know you will be here again. That is one constant, secure fact of our lives. But I wonder what changes will have come about by then. Will we be excited to see you coming? Will we remember that we were sad to say goodbye this year?

If you look at time in the context of Christmas to Christmas, it can make you anxious, or just down-right scared. Can I remember what was happening when you came last year? Yes, faintly. Everyone was home except for the x-son-in-law and the x-daughter-in-law. It was the second time for him being gone and the first for her. So you were hard to bear for one child of mine, not so hard for the other. But the little ones were all here. The changes we endure are what determines your welcome. We try not to be selfish; but we are. Changes are normal; but do they have to be traumatic, negative, heart-wrenching changes? Hopefully, we have had our share of those by now and we can have a few years of peaceful, united family Christmas'. But then again, maybe your coming every year is what helped us through those trying times. We took advantage of you to forget our individual problems and tried to make each other happy. Whether it was by trying to find the perfect gift, or just be coming home and being together. They don't all realize it yet, but we find strength in each other. We are a family of traditions. To open or not to open on Christmas eve. Socks every year. Target practicing and friendly completion. The food, the noise, the mess, are all traditions of this family. Traditions that say, "It's Christmas!" and we all survived another year!

Every year I worry. But things always work out in the end. What is scary is the fact that I don't worry as much as I used to. Why? Apathy about Christmas is not an option. Maybe its just age; I know now that things always work out somehow. I take you for granted. Is that the way it is supposed to be? Is that the security of age? Who knows.

We are sad to see you go even if we don't admit it. And we will all be excited to see you come again. We just need to learn to be grateful for the fact that you will come again. No matter how much we mess up, what crisis we go through, how much the kids grow and change, one thing will never change. Christmas will come again to see how we all are. The thing we all need to remember is that we need to keep trying, keep working, keep being excited about life. And we need to always to take care of our family because that is what Christmas is all about. Even if we are not all together physically, we can be in spirit. Will they remember that?

It's alright to be sad about your leaving. We had a good one. Now lets plan for next year and be strong for whatever comes our way and be excited about what is yet to be.

Goodbye Christmas .... Happy New Year !

Learn more about this author, Margi Bettelyoun.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.