Being Present at Christmas
As printed in My Village News December 2020.
Christmas 2020, thank God it’s here. The summer holiday in its pared back, long day, beachy glory has been the mirage on this bleak year’s horizon encouraging me to trudge on, and I’m sure I’m not the only one diving for the tinsel. Most of us will take our first break of the year this December. Though “twelve months without a holiday” is probably the definition of a first world problem, the collective sigh we’ll breathe this Christmas Eve will have been universally well-earned.
The starry-eyed optimism of the season has been getting me through these white-knuckle months. The comfort of traditions, gift-giving and the warmth of knowing I’ll be with my nearest and dearest, and able to see friends from interstate. And while I’ve never been one to eye-roll at shopping centres playing carols “too early”, by my own standards I have been shockingly lenient with the official start date of my Christmas spirit this year. Festive tunes have been blaring in my car since before Cup day. How my heart fills when I hear Matilda delightedly call out from the back seat, “Mummy! A Christmas tree with a star on top!” as we drive by Gasworks and, “Look, Mum! It’s Santa,” when we pass Bunnings’ inflatable display.
I booked in super early for our annual pilgrimage to Santaland at the top of Myer too. This will be our third Christmas taking our daughter and although my husband and I act as if it’s just another part of parenting, we secretly get such a rush being transported to the world they create. Because, really all grown-ups have a dormant fire of excitement in their bellies when it comes to Christmas. We just get older, take on more responsibilities and Santa becomes a foggy memory until children come along to stoke the magic.
I’m ashamed to admit it but at previous Christmas lunches I have been too preoccupied with perfecting food and organising presents to actually be present. So for the first time in my 30 years I will actually come the table with the sincerest gratitude for loved ones after braving the crushing storm that was 2020.
