Presents and Presence

This Christmas, my family decided not to exchange gifts out of sensitivity to our pocketbooks. I was 99% on board with the idea. I love giving gifts just as much as I love getting them and a small part of me was going to miss our tradition of gift-giving on Christmas morning. But I was on board, nonetheless.

In lieu of losing one tradition, my mom, C and I decided to start a new one by spending Christmas doing something fun together instead. We bounced around a few ideas and landed on Scandia, where we played arcade games, Laser Tag (which was way too much fun, btw) and a rousing bout of miniature golf. As I was attempting to putt on the 12th hole (which involved a very dastardly windmill) my ball kept getting deflected by the automatic door, sending it soaring back at me. By the third time, my mother was nearly exploding with laughter. By the fourth time, C was laughing too. Next thing I know, we’re all cracking up at the sheer hilarity of the situation. And at that moment, I could have cared less about presents. Or wrapping paper. Or tissue paper-stuffed gift bags. All I wanted was to be in that exact place at that exact time, laughing with two of the people I love most over my wacky putts in mini golf.

Christmas shouldn’t be about the stuff under the tree — nor the buying, the wrapping, or even the giving of said stuff. It’s less about the presents and more about being present; appreciating the fact that I am alive, healthy and able to share in the wonderful moments that come with spending time with loved ones during the holidays. If any year taught me that lesson, it was this one. A few days before Christmas, one of my best friends who I’ve known since elementary school suffered from a blood mass that ruptured in her brain. I am incredibly grateful that she’s okay and that she seems like she’s back to her old, wonderful self. But it made me realize that tomorrow is never guaranteed. My presence on this earth, and that of my friends and family, was given another year — that is what truly makes the holidays merry and bright.

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