Now, what do I want for Christmas this year?

Kate · Last edited by Kate on Sat Dec 30, 2006 8:38 am; edited 1 time in total

Dear members. The following was written by my dear friends Amelia and Jim in their christmas card. Amelia wrote it and I asked her if I could reprint it here because it is so true and I could not have said it better. Amelia has just learned that her Mom has cancer. These are very wise words and I thank her for them. I hope you are as touched as I am.
Kate

Now, what do I want for Christmas this year? …

what I have wanted since I stopped asking for toys and crayons ~ which is really quite a while now… ever since I had more than I needed … which actually has been all of my life – I’ve never ever really wanted for anything, though there were a few times when I thought I did… wait a minute, where was I?

…what I want for Christmas this year is TIME. More time, please. I want time to stop, to stand still, to run backwards... I want to be able to turn back the Hands of Time. I want to find that loophole that will let me return to favorite places in the Times of my Life. And I want to be able to move forward in time – to the days when we know more and can do more.

It may sound like what I am asking for is to be bestowed super-human powers, or to gently lose touch with reality while filming the next Next Generation of Star Trek. But it’s not that simple.

A few days ago, Thursday December 7th– the day, I believe, that will live in infamy - (underscoring how critical perspective is) my mother, Katie’s and Clay’s and mine, our mother was diagnosed with liver cancer. A few days from now we will learn whether or not it has moved into her brain as well, as her doctor seems to suspect.

And so, this year, more than ever, what I want for Christmas is Time. I wish this not just for me, but for all of us. The time to do what we want to do, what we can do. Time (and the wisdom! and the courage) to do the right thing. To know what really matters. To make choices. To take action. To see the whole picture and to know and respect and treasure our small, individual parts in the whole.

I learned about time when I was growing up. In our house we took time. We made things. We made time to make things. We made choices about what was important. We didn’t have lots of stuff; we had lots of experiences, lots of conversation. Lots of listening. We did things together. We made time. It sounds so simple. We made time – but we didn’t create it. How many times have your or I said or heard, “If only there were a few more hours in the day?” But this is not about magical superpowers. Nothing as shiny and sparkly and front-page newsworthy as that. This is about the self-reflective daily grind of choosing wisely. Establishing priorities. Understanding limits. It’s about the hard work of choosing: putting down the remote and picking up the phone. It’s about the difference between being patient and waiting … for someone else to take the lead. We only have so much time, and none of us know how much that really is.

This year … give Time. Hey. It doesn’t have to be wrapped. You don’t have to drive somewhere to pick it up. You can give a little or a lot. It’s always the perfect gift. Legal. Non-fattening. Flattering in every light.

Give it to strangers. Talk to the clerk at the grocery store, to the person in line next to you. Get out of your shell. Be a neighbor. Lend a hand. Extend yourself. Go first. Compliment someone. Take a chance. Be personal. Risk making contact. Be brave enough to be memorable. It will make you feel great. Get outside of yourself. One on one.

Give it to people you love. Bake the cookies. With the child. Even though it takes 4 times as long. Turn off the TV and talk. Or turn on the TV and cuddle. Give what you want to get. Attention, concern, involvement, commitment, freedom, trust, respect, passion, understanding, acceptance, patience, pleasure, preference, caring. Take time to learn that Love is an action word. A verb. That while love may be a state of mind … of being … it is most definitely expressed and understood as a result of doing. Go first. Take the time. Take the risk.

Every day is a gift. Open each one in the true spirit of the season.
And thanks again, Mom, for all the gifts you’ve given us and all this time.
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Life's short...eat dessert first.

kerismummy · Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 3:45 pm Post subject:

very true
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I like cake. And pie. And mash. So sue me! Food is good and i'd rather be me and happy than skinny and miserable!