Christmas Lessons
So Christmas is over.......yippee. And everyone is happy with their gifts. Bigger yippee. Every year I stress out wondering what to get everyone. Apparently I did good.....the only complaint I heard was from my nephew who on Christmas day continued to ask me "Where's my present?" Grrr....
It makes you wonder where on earth to draw the line? Gifts for secret santas at school, gifts for the very special friends, gifts from one kid to the other, gifts from each kid to gramma, gifts from kids to step parents, parents........the cycle in mixed families could go on endlessly. And the reason for the line being drawn at this particular avenue is that ...... well, his mother divorced my brother, and while I still consider him my nephew for all intents and purposes, rarely do we have much contact except during holidays. It's not like I ever get invited to birthdays, even though his mother still lives with my brother. The kids dont play together.......I figured it was just as well within my budget to give them a family gift. Not to mention at 12 years old he is far too old to be following me around whining "where's my present." The parents missed the giving lesson on that one. So I tackled him, smothered his face with kisses, and told him that was all I had for gifts this year.....lovin's. I had to do it twice.......he wasnt as offended as I had thought. (snicker)
MRLI was very sweet all weekend. Considering it was a long weekend, thats quite an accomplishment....he didnt even complain about spending new years with my buddies. The talk my brother in law had with him may have helped some. They work together, and he has noticed an enormous change in his demeanor the past few months. To the point of wanting to quit his job to not be around him anymore. Thats pretty bad. So he told him he's been as ass. He said its due to stress, the same thing I always get, but apparently the point was made that I have not been making shit up.....that everyone has noticed he has taken a turn for the worse. I have been hoping that someone would come forward and mention something, anything to him, so he could take a closer look at himself instead of just being defensive like he does with me.
Things are looking up.
I realized that my emotions have been in a bit of limbo lately. We have been spared the grim reaper in our family this year, but I came across an obit from a school friend that saddened me. I dont know how he died, I havent had contact with him in years, but I was still saddened and affected by the feeling of mortality. We never know how long we have. The clock is always ticking but we have no clue how close we are to the timer going off. I'm not afraid of that concept, but everytime someone I have known dies, I wonder how much time we waste doing things that arent important and hope that when my timer expires that everyone I love knows it. I feel for their family, Ive been through the same.
I also was reading the local paper and realized that my best friend from junior high school was on the front page. It seems her 5 year old daughter has a form of childhood cancer. Ive also lost contact with her. Its amazing how we make choices that make us miserable, while others are afflicted with uncontrollable life circumstances that are far more tragic than anything we can ever imagine. I cant imagine anything in life more painful than a terminally ill child. God bless that family.
I was always taught when you start feeling sorry for yourself, feel free to take a look around. Sometimes I need to be reminded of those lessons, and this Christmas I was.
It makes you wonder where on earth to draw the line? Gifts for secret santas at school, gifts for the very special friends, gifts from one kid to the other, gifts from each kid to gramma, gifts from kids to step parents, parents........the cycle in mixed families could go on endlessly. And the reason for the line being drawn at this particular avenue is that ...... well, his mother divorced my brother, and while I still consider him my nephew for all intents and purposes, rarely do we have much contact except during holidays. It's not like I ever get invited to birthdays, even though his mother still lives with my brother. The kids dont play together.......I figured it was just as well within my budget to give them a family gift. Not to mention at 12 years old he is far too old to be following me around whining "where's my present." The parents missed the giving lesson on that one. So I tackled him, smothered his face with kisses, and told him that was all I had for gifts this year.....lovin's. I had to do it twice.......he wasnt as offended as I had thought. (snicker)
MRLI was very sweet all weekend. Considering it was a long weekend, thats quite an accomplishment....he didnt even complain about spending new years with my buddies. The talk my brother in law had with him may have helped some. They work together, and he has noticed an enormous change in his demeanor the past few months. To the point of wanting to quit his job to not be around him anymore. Thats pretty bad. So he told him he's been as ass. He said its due to stress, the same thing I always get, but apparently the point was made that I have not been making shit up.....that everyone has noticed he has taken a turn for the worse. I have been hoping that someone would come forward and mention something, anything to him, so he could take a closer look at himself instead of just being defensive like he does with me.
Things are looking up.
I realized that my emotions have been in a bit of limbo lately. We have been spared the grim reaper in our family this year, but I came across an obit from a school friend that saddened me. I dont know how he died, I havent had contact with him in years, but I was still saddened and affected by the feeling of mortality. We never know how long we have. The clock is always ticking but we have no clue how close we are to the timer going off. I'm not afraid of that concept, but everytime someone I have known dies, I wonder how much time we waste doing things that arent important and hope that when my timer expires that everyone I love knows it. I feel for their family, Ive been through the same.
I also was reading the local paper and realized that my best friend from junior high school was on the front page. It seems her 5 year old daughter has a form of childhood cancer. Ive also lost contact with her. Its amazing how we make choices that make us miserable, while others are afflicted with uncontrollable life circumstances that are far more tragic than anything we can ever imagine. I cant imagine anything in life more painful than a terminally ill child. God bless that family.
I was always taught when you start feeling sorry for yourself, feel free to take a look around. Sometimes I need to be reminded of those lessons, and this Christmas I was.
posted by Gigglezngrinz at 10:05 AM
3 Comments:
I'm glad to hear things calmed down some for you GG.
And you're absolutely right. Staying in the right frame of mind can do wonders for dealing with our own lives.
Are you getting all profound on us now?
GG im glad too that things are on a more even keel...for now.
it is amazing how when we start having the "woe is me" syndrome that we come across someone else who's situation is much more dire than ours, and it becomes a wake-up call.
i'm glad your Christmas went well and i hope and pray we all have a blessed and prosperous New Year.
Hugs
((((((((((((GG)))))))))))
I'm glad things are going well for you right now.
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