Suffield Observations
Boxed out of a holiday tradition
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In England, Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, is kind of a big deal. A national holiday, it’s a bona fide part of the holiday calendar.
Suffield Observations
Something to talk about
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Last month, while dining at a local restaurant, a Suffieldian I’ve known for almost 15 years came to our table and asked us how things were going, and I told her things were not perfect. She breathed this huge sigh of relief and revealed to us that things in her life were not perfect either.
Suffield Observations
A Fresh Start
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A new school year is upon us, providing a chance to shed all those bad habits and start the year right. My fellow parents, I am talking to you.
Suffield Observations
Before you jump in the deep end…
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We have a pool, which is kind of like saying I have a 33,000-gallon creature in my yard and feeds on chlorine, a lot of chlorine.
Suffield Observations
Forever young
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Thirty years ago this month, I said good-bye to a friend for the last time. It was short and far from meaningful.
Suffield Observations
Parenting by Association
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When I was 15, I was sitting in on a driving lesson my friend Chris was getting from his dad. After practicing all the fundamentals, Chris was given the green light to drive home.
Suffield Observations
Orange in a Blue State
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Connecticut’s a funny state. It’s the third smallest state in the nation, but it has 169 municipalities.
Suffield Observations
Look before you believe
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I was talking to a friend about a recent event. How could this happen? Are people blind?
Suffield Observations
We’ve been slimed!
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I recently got a call from my daughter’s school informing me that she and a few other girls had gotten into a little bit of trouble on the bus.
Suffield Observations
Suffield Observations
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A guy I once knew had a Christmas he’d never forget. He was about 25 years old and still at the stage of his life when he spent the holidays with his parents and siblings. On the day of Christmas Eve, his father had a massive heart attack.
They converged on the hospital and waited. If you’ve been through something like that, you know that the Earth stops turning. Outside the hospital, life goes on its merry way; inside, you wait. Thankfully, his dad pulled through. The family came home that night and went to sleep. The next morning, they decided to exchange gifts. But being the holiday procrastinators they were, a lot of the gifts hadn’t been wrapped. No problem. They agreed to distribute the gifts person-to-person straight from the shopping bags.
It wasn’t traditional, but it was perfect.
I always think of that guy when I see so many people push themselves to plan the perfect Christmas. Although some would call it tradition, I’ve observed a slight ratcheting of customs over the years.
There was a time when a lit tree in the window and a wreath on the door was the extent of holiday decorations. Today, you’ve got laser light shows and an inflatable Santa’s workshop in people’s front yards. There was a time when the Friday after Thanksgiving was just a Friday. There was none of the mania to get the perfect gifts at the lowest prices. And, I do recall there was a time when presents, for the most part, actually fit under the tree. Today, mountains of gifts fill the living room and soon will dwarf the tree itself.
I understand why people work so hard to make Christmas special. It’s a day when you feel the warmth of your most treasured relationships and which seems to capture your deepest sentiments in an inextinguishable memory. I’m getting pretty old, but there are some holidays I can drift back to as effortlessly as Scrooge with his Ghost of Christmas Past.
So, when you’re dealing with romantic reminiscences bordering on metaphysical manifestations, of course you want to make every Christmas perfect. And, though I may gripe like a grumpy Grinch, I’m not going to ask you to tone it down. I just want to offer this one observation: For all the effort we put into the holiday — from the Christmas cards to the holiday parties to the turkey and the presents themselves — it’s really just an opportunity every year to show people how much you care about them. The rest is just for show.