Savoring the Season

Making Lasting Memories with Your Family

article by Cindy G. Foust

Oh the weather outside is frightful…no readers, it really is. It’s snowing. This is like April Fool’s, except the joke is on us, because there is snow everywhere and it’s early November. I think the real miracle here is they didn’t cancel school, because typically when we have sawdust level snow, the kids get out of school for a few weeks. I’m fairly confident, however, that we will be back in flip flops and shorts by the end of the week. But hey, we are enjoying some winter precipitation that makes it feel somewhat like the holidays at least.

Speaking of the holidays, readers, did you know that there are only five shopping Fridays until Christmas? I guess I need to take note as well, get myself a shopping list made and get to it. Don’t judge, but I’ve already started dragging out the Christmas decorations.

At the time I write this column, we haven’t even had Thanksgiving yet, but this early start has been triggered by my love for sitting by the fire with the house all lit up from the Christmas tree. Incidentally, that doesn’t have one thing to do with over-commercialization, friends, it has to do with wanting to savor every moment of the season, even if it’s a little early. Savoring these moments also means reflecting on holidays past. I’ve written in many columns how charmed I feel my childhood was. I do think I failed to tell you about the time I thought I caught Santa leaving our gifts, and boy is that a story to tell. So, here’s what happened. In my younger years, my sisters and I liked to get up really early, like at 2:00 a.m. and see what had Santa left. Don’t you know my parents loved when we did that, as they had probably just gone to bed, but hey, that’s part of a parent’s job, as I know now. Anyway, this one particular Christmas me and my two sisters decided we would sleep together and get up as soon as the first one of us woke up. I would suggest on the night in question, this was somewhere around 2:00 a.m., but the details are still a little cloudy, because when you think you might have actually caught Santa Claus, red-handed, in your living room, you black out for a few minutes. Also keep in mind, my sisters still believed in Santa and as for me, well, this was along about the time when I was still on the fence.

So, rewind to that cold Christmas night, (it was probably 84 degrees and the ceiling fans were probably going, but it makes a better story to think that Santa might not have been able to use the chimney because the fire kept him out, right?). It’s about two in the morning, and three little girls are single-file sneaking down the hallway. As we round the corner, in the pitch black of the night, I spot, what I think is Santa, all hunched over, with his back to us. I freak out, like totally freak out and grab my sister’s hands and drag them back to bed, running down that hall like a bottle rocket was chasing us. Whew…that was close. I know I must have laid there a few hours processing this startling turn of events, and the revelation that Santa really was real. I’m not sure what time we ended up getting up that morning, but I can tell you that in the light of day, when the smoke had cleared and I rounded that same corner and saw the super gigantic, yellow Huffy standing in the same place as the alleged Santa Claus sighting, well, I kind of felt a little foolish. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I was thrilled to have the “yellow banana” that I hadn’t even asked for, but I also remember how sad I felt at not being able to report to the newspaper that I had actually, after all these years, been the one to catch Santa, and become rich and famous. I did do a good job of convincing my sisters that we had, in fact, caught Santa and we must never ever get up before daylight again. Yes, that’s a great memory, even if I didn’t make the news.

Speaking of the news, readers, do you ever read or hear about something really tragic in the news and you can’t get it off your mind for days, like get totally polarized by it?
Why am I asking this, of course you do? How could you not? Because it seems like horrible tragic things happen way too frequently these days. One such time for me was a few weeks ago when a young, beautiful couple from Texas left their wedding reception in a helicopter, and were subsequently killed that same night when it crashed. The horror, the sheer horror of it kept me awake for a few nights. Perhaps it’s because I have a son in that age window, or maybe it’s just because I am a parent…a human.

Whatever the case, I have spent the last few weeks hugging my children just a little bit tighter; telling them as often as they will allow me that I love them; trying to savor every moment of their daily activities as I possibly can. Why? Because that helicopter crash again served as a reminder that memories are what sustain us through our lives, during good times, during sad times, during happy times. Our memories wrap themselves around us like a great, furry blanket.

That silly Santa story probably doesn’t mean much to you, readers, but to me, it’s priceless, especially since one of my sisters is already in heaven. And even though I write a lot in the column about working to keep things in perspective in our lives, this tragic accident also AGAIN (yes, I know all caps means I am screaming, but that’s what I want it to come across as) reminded me that sweating the small stuff with our kids, our family, our friends, our co-workers, should be less and less of a habit.

My kids are happy; they are healthy; they are safe…there are so many of us who are suffering, who are sick, who are broken. I, myself, have lost a child, so the ache in my heart for the families and friends of that young beautiful couple continues to nag at me daily. It makes me put my “memories” in a treasure chest that are truly treasures.

It’s the holidays readers, so take these next few weeks and make some memories. Catch you a Santa Claus. Spend as much time with your family and friends as you can. Let go of the small stuff. But most importantly, cherish every day you have. This column may seem a little random in places, but my heart is heavy and sometimes that happens when my fingers start doing the typing. I have to get it all out, like a good colon cleansing (can I say that in this column? I guess my editor will take it out if I can’t.) Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you readers, may your holidays be filled with relishing and treasuring your memories and making new ones that will last a life time.