Happy holidays!

Christmas was a steamy (compared to the rest of the country) 80 degrees in my hometown of Laredo, Texas--but that didn't compare to the warmth of celebrating with my family and friends.

In the last few years, my large family has lost several of our beloved members. After two decades of ironclad family traditions, it hasn't been easy adjusting to the changes these losses have brought. Indeed, the absences of those who once led the celebrations--in some form or another--are palpable. But in some way, I'm realizing, that is because we can still feel their presences.

If I squinted hard, I could almost see my poppi, my mother's father, playing Santa on Christmas Eve, passing out gifts to a long line of kids spread out on the cold tile floor. On Christmas day, I could still sense my grandpa, my father's dad, doing the same, calling out names over the clamor of laughter and glasses clinking. I wore one of my grandmother's much-loved berets on Christmas Eve, and I could still smell my nanny while we sat around the breakfast table the next morning. And that's a beautiful thing, one that makes me appreciate the family and friends who still surround me.

What, if anything, did you do to celebrate the holidays? How do you respond to changing traditions?

26.12.2008. 20:50

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