Family Day
We had a nice family Christmas yesterday although we missed the brother, son, and middle child. He was home ill. We ate, we drank and made merry then swapped presents. It was fun all the way around. I gave the youngest grandkids binoculars and a bird book and right on cue a red shouldered hawk sat on the fence just outside their kitchen window. Perfect timing.
Today I head back to the Hill Country. My daughter and son-in-law will take their brood east to the coast and then to Maine, while my oldest and his wife and children will visit in-laws for more merriment. ‘Tis the season. The roads were pretty clear yesterday and I imagine it will be equally so today, although who cares? If there’s traffic, there’s traffic and I’ll still get there. I’ll play some tunes, sing along, and try to think pleasant thoughts, which should be easy.
If the drive is slow, it will give me time to ruminate on the year just past, which has been a good one. Lot’s of high points. A few lows. One surgical scare. But overall, just right and the sort of year that gives you hope for good things to come, and I’ve got plans. Of course, you never really know what a year will bring until it brings it and all you can really do is learn the art of acceptance and hone your skills for looking on the bright side, which is almost always there, because the sun always shines somewhere.
John W. Wilson is the author of The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver's Tale