CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – I spoke with my mother on the phone a few weeks ago. Thanksgiving is going to be a quiet day at their house back East.
The big meal will be just my mother and father.
This will be quite a contrast from the Thanksgivings I remember at my parents house. The big meal included both of my grandmothers and grandfathers, my aunt and two uncles, my younger sister, my children and my ex-wife. Many of the empty chairs are because of deaths. My aunt and one uncle have passed on. No one is still living from the grandparents’ generation. My children and I are here in Wisconsin. My sister has recently bought a condo in Florida, and will spend the holiday in the warm weather there instead of the cold weather in the northeast.
Christmas will also be small at my parents’ house. And as a child my father always provided a big Christmas for his family. And my mother always made the house festive. I almost can’t imagine their home without a big Christmas tree and a bounty of presents underneath. Even in Wisconsin, my Christmas will be spent listening to the radio and sitting by the woodstove; a quiet day rather than a large celebration.
It was foolish of me to think that the holidays, which are filled with wonderful memories, would be frozen in time, unchanged.
And an honest assessment tells me that giant family reunions are not what the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are about. Family is one of the things that I’m thankful for. But a quiet day of thanksgiving allows me to be more reflective. I truly lead a blessed life. I am free from want. I have a fulfilling and successful career. I have wonderful children. I’m in good health and have a sound mind. Truely, my cup runs over.
And a quiet Christmas reminds me of what the holiday is supposed to be about. The tree and the stockings and the presents and the egg nog are trappings. They can blind us that it is the day God sent His son to redeem His creation. It’s the day humankind receives a gift from the Divine.
Perhaps it takes a smaller, quieter holiday season to appreciate all that we’ve been given.
Chris Conley
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