Embracing the Christmas Spirit

In fact last year I kept my money in the bank and turned my head and pretended nothing was happening. This year, however, I was sucked into the whole Christmas thing by force. Unfortunately a few months ago there was a plumbing issue which led to a flood in my house ergo I was forced to undertake some pretty major renovations. ARRRGGGHH Is this what people put themselves through every year? There I was sweating like a pig, up a ladder, repainting my ceiling when a blob of paint fell into my eye. The first thing that came to mind was there are so many other things I would prefer to be doing at that moment. Even a root canal would have been preferable. I tend to spend the dollars to get good paint, so I hadn’t painted the room in the last six years, with little evidence of wear. This time I was so thorough, I hope I don’t have to paint again for the next ten years. It helps that my son has finally outgrown his habit of using the walls for his spontaneous murals. So here I am changing flooring, painting from floor to ceiling and changing curtains etc. to co-ordinate and truth be told if I wasn’t sick and tired of living in disarray, I wouldn’t put myself through this.

I did mention I was sucked into Christmas, right? Well I didn’t only do renovations on the house but I got the ham, the turkey, the black cake and the pastelles too. In my defence that’s just because I like to eat and I got them all at a killer price.

What can I say? I’m a girl that can’t pass up a good deal especially when it comes to meat of any kind.

I do have to say I see the appeal of a pristine, freshly painted, well decorated home and a table laid out with the most appetising food imaginable but oh the expense. I don’t think I would even be doing this much if it wasn’t for the cheque from the insurance company to pay for repairs from the flood damage. Anyway so there I was lamenting on my preparations for Christmas when it happened, I went to my son’s school’s Christmas concert. My first time attending and they made a big deal of it. It was lovely to see all the children putting their special talents on display and I started to get very emotional. Ah, so this is the spirit of Christmas and not Fernandez Vat 19. I flnally got it.

It was not the painting, the spending or the eating, for me Christmas came when I saw my little boy holding a microphone on a stage to sing his own version of Away in a Manger arranged to include some songs from Sesame Street. They say Christmas is about the children but kids these days seem to suffer with a bad case of the ‘ gimme gimme gimme, get, get, get’. It was these special needs children who were just so excited to dress up and sing, dance, read or play musical instruments for their loved ones who had the real spirit of Christmas.

Sometimes hard times are a good thing. Things are tight financially with everyone I know, myself included. So we are forced to eschew the overly commercial aspect of the season and spend time together which was the point of the whole season in the first place. Not the spending yourself into debt and eating and drinking till your organs are screaming bloody murder. I almost feel sorry for the businessmen, stores are open and begging people to come inside and shop and there was no hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping when I looked around.

So on this Christmas Day let’s focus on the things that are most important, about spending time with loved ones, reconnecting with family, relaxing and reminding ourselves about the most important things in life. If you’re single and childless [lucky you] Christmas is a great time to take a trip, relax and focus on yourself. I used to go up the islands, magazine in hand, lounge on the beach, eat room service and recharge.

For someone who hasn’t really celebrated Christmas in almost 30 years, I just may reconsider my position. After being sucked into the whole thing, then getting a wallop from the true spirit of Christmas, while I won’t concede defeat, I am rethinking my stance on the whole thing. I’m still dead set against the spending till I drop bit and eating till I’m comatose, that won’t change. I’m even considering not celebrating Festivus in full this year, the Seinfeld fans would know exactly what I’m talking about. Yes, my family is that strange. We do the whole routine; feats of strength and airing of grievances bit.

So this season, from this frugal mama and my talented little boy, may you and your family also find the true spirit of Christmas. When it’s all over may you still have money in your pocket to see you through the guava season that is January.

Amid all the ham, lamb and liquor may you not lose sight of the important things in life and may you make memories that will bring joy and laughter for years to come.