It’s a little late for Christmas.. but hey, who’s counting! So, Merry Christmas!!
This definitely is the most wonderful time of the year. Christmas is not an occasion for just Christians. Growing up in Bombay and Kerala, Christmas is an occasion that has grown so close to the heart.
I started enjoying Christmas more when we started celebrating Christmas for our son. Planning all year through what he wants, buying them on Black Friday sale, trying to get creative with the ‘Elf on the Shelf’, pretending I have Santa on speed dial to inform him if my son does something naughty! Most of all…seeing the happiness on our baby’s face when he opens his gifts!
Our son is 9, so he’s kinda on the cusp of knowing how Christmas really works, but I’m not really afraid of losing all this as he grows up.
As parents, our duty is to teach them the true spirit of Christmas.
Just like how we derived joy in his happiness, we will teach him to make someone else happy, who really needs it. Teach him that Christmas is called the season of giving for a reason! Christmas is not just a festive occasion, it’s a sentiment, it’s an emotion!
As my son grows up he might realize that Santa is not real, but that’s when he will also realize how much effort his parents put into hiding the Elf and gifts just to see him smile.
This is not just our story, every parent we know here(US) does this. It’s when we selflessly do small things like this that our children grow up with this same spirit. We need to teach them that Santa is inside each one of us! We hold the power to make someone happy. Be the reason behind someone’s smile!
My Christmas happiness was kinda short lived this year because my Mom left for India yesterday. I’m 34 now, so I should be equipped to get a grip on things. But honestly, I’m still scared when I’m without my mom. It’s true that our inner strength leaps out when we are left alone. It is said that, "to achieve anything special, you must learn to live alone and do it all by yourself". But there’s also a popular quote that says, ”You are never alone. You are eternally connected with everyone.” I think this is probably true! Because even when I’m not with my mother, I’m eternally connected to her as she is to me. We sense each other’s feelings without even talking and living miles apart!
Why am I writing so much about my mother today? It’s not just because she’s travelling to India. It’s because for the first time in my life, during this visit, I saw my mom sick. My mom has always been a figure in our home who has stepped up anytime we need her. And no matter how she’s feeling, I have never heard her say she doesn’t know to do something or she can’t do something.
So this time when she had a disc prolapse and was on bed rest, it hit me that my mother is growing old. Now those who have met my mother know that she doesn’t look a day beyond 50, but this time we celebrated her 60th birthday!
This is the most pessimistic thing to do, but I’ve selfishly been thinking, since we celebrated her 60th and this disc prolapse thing, that how my life would ever be without her. I really cannot imagine my life without my mother! For her 60th, my only wish is that she lives forever...
She stood strong when our father passed away. She had lost her husband, while she was just in her 40s, but she was consoling her weak hearted daughter! She stood by me and guided me when my premature baby was born. She leapt in and gave it her all to nurse me back to my health after my stroke. She still visits us every year and takes over all the home duties and practically raises my child! We have a running joke here that my mother is actually my son’s mom and I’m just the nurse! But it’s actually true.
My mother is my soul sister and she has been my soul bearer since birth. She treasures my darkest secrets.
People say I’m just her, in another body. Just like her, I voice my opinions no matter what. But I’m not as strong a woman as her. Her complaint forever about me is that I pretend to be strong but let people walk all over me! Well I think all mothers are like this. They raise their daughters to be just like them and then whine about their behavior! :)
I have friends who have lost their mother young, so when you read this blog, do remember that your mom is still with you as your guardian angel and you can see glimpses of her in your children too. A mother refuses to leave her child no matter what! I'm a living proof of that!
Here’s to great children being raised who embrace the true Christmas spirit and to great mothers who raise them! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We all need 2021 to be great.. may you find your joy!
#MerryChristmas2020 #HappyNewYear2021 #ChristmasSpirit #MothersAreTheBest #SayItLikeYouMeanIt #unfiltered
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