I recently came across this Christmas letter I wrote to friends a family a couple years ago. It made me smile and I keep thinking about it so I thought I’d share it.
Christmas 2006
Greetings:
I’ve recently come to grips with the fact that I had a truly happy childhood. It’s true, aside from Susan (sister) needing to keep the closet light on at night in our shared bedroom, Aaron (brother) getting to stay up late and watch “Dinosaurs” on TV with Dad, and that whole American Girl doll thing (don’t ask), I survived my childhood with relatively few scars and many warm memories.
I’ve also recently had to come to grips with the fact that my childhood is over. This one has been a bit harder to cope with.
I was outside of Wal-Mart in Avon, Colorado waiting for a bus when I got the news; Mischief, Flower family cat of 14 years, had been put to sleep. I struggled not to cry and felt a bit silly for being so sad over the death of an ornery old cat. I tried to rationalize my tears, telling myself that he had been a family member for 14 years, our first family pet. Then it hit me, our first family pet; Lauren (sister) was 4 and I was 11 when I brought home the small puff of fur and begged “Daddy, please can we keep him?” Now Lauren’s 17 and I’m 24, Susan’s 22 and Aaron’s 19. Our ages have proved we’re no longer children for several years now and yet I can’t help but feel as if the ending of this year, and the passing of our first pet, officially ends our childhood.
While it was hard to accept at first, this realization got me thinking about and reflecting on the past year. I took a trip to Key West with my boyfriend, took a trip to New York City with my girlfriends, and I went snowboarding with my little brother in Crested Butte, CO. I hiked to the top of the tallest mountain in Colorado, Mt. Elbert, and four other 14,000 ft. mountains. I helped my grandmother celebrate her 80th birthday and realized that family only becomes more important as you get older.
Recently, I joined a writing group, started working again at the coffee shop on Vail Mountain, and decided to keep a few hours a week at my summer job to start saving money to go to Australia. So, I suppose, if this is adulthood, it isn’t so bad. And, if I’ve learned anything from my father, it’s that you never really have to grow up completely (or, in his case, at all).
While I know adulthood won’t be all walks in Central Park and breathtaking mountain vistas, it doesn’t look so bad. And I take comfort in knowing there will always be moments where the joys of childhood can still be found, especially this time of year. Even though I’m far away from my family and the holidays mean extra work rather than time off, I still find myself mesmerized by twinkling lights and anxious to see what Santa has left for me this year. There’s something magical and deeply spiritual about this time of year, something true and real that will always find a way to shine through holiday anxieties and commercial hype, something that will always bring out the child in me, and perhaps in you as well. So Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. God bless.
Love,
Tracey
