A holiday sharing of joy among my friends

I sometimes privately lament that my marriage didn’t work out, that my bed is empty, that I did not save well for retirement, that my body is getting older, slower, less mobile and more painful to operate.  The things I coulda, woulda, shoulda, done better.  I am also aware the holiday season can be difficult when you think of those who are now gone. “The good old days”.  “The way it used to be”.  Allow me to share in contrast, the past few days of experiences I have had this holiday season. Some good tidings. Some great joy.

I was ahead of the game this holiday season.  I had already wrapped gifts and made a big ol’ batch of my favorite sausage stuffing for a Seniors potluck at my local YMCA community center. I meet there several times a week for water aerobics with folks who are older than I.  People with even more challenges than myself.  They are joyous and filled with warmth and caring. We laugh… oh boy do we laugh. We carry on like kids in a playground! I might be one of the bigger culprits of that last part, to be honest. But they are my inspiration.

I have gotten rather round over the years and I am battling that as well. On Wednesday I received an email asking me to help the Y distribute gifts that had been collected for a less than fortunate public-school population nearby.  It came with barely 24 hours’ notice.  The fella who was Santa was unable to make it this year.  I jumped at the chance to put on a Santa suit and help.  I rearranged a few things and went over to try on the suit.  It was amazing how it transformed me.  I didn’t even recognize myself!  So now I find myself practicing my Ho-Ho-Ho’s at stoplights. Thank the Lord for tinted windows.

I decided to put on most of the outfit before I drove over, leaving the thick, long caped jacket off until I arrived at the school. Sure enough, there were kids nearby when I parked so I had to try to get the rest of the ensemble on before I exited my vehicle.  But I forgot my seatbelt was on when I slid my arms into the heavy red robe. Picture a heavy-set man with a bad shoulder that day, in a compact car tangled in a seatbelt and a Santa suit trying fruitlessly to get liberated from the mess.  I stopped and had to laugh at the imagined headline: “Santa found lifeless, tangled in a Hyundai near children’s schoolyard days before Christmas.”

I opened the car door and got righted around without being discovered.  I entered the school and the show was on.   As I walked down the hall to the event, kids in classrooms could see me and began waving with dropped jaws!  When I waved my white gloved hand back at them, they would giggle and jump and tug on their neighbor and point!

As I entered the cafetorium (a combination of cafeteria and auditorium) I saw a dozen or more folks loading hundreds of wrapped gifts onto tables. My local Y had collected what seemed like a gazillion gifts for others with their “Angel Tree”.  It was Love in Action and

I got to be a part of it!   How cool is that?!  I was nothing but honored to participate.

I was given a chair on the stage.  Miss Len, the project coordinator handed me a microphone and asked me to use it to say Ho-Ho-Ho from time to time. I knew I would not need a microphone for that. I watched as the room was transformed by these dedicated “elves” into a Holiday Wonderland in under an hour!

Now across the stage; a line of the most precious children you might ever meet, waiting for their moment with Santa.  My Spanish is poor at best.  My helper Steven would ask them, “English or Spanish?” My gesture to come hither would be joined with my hearty “Hello” or “Hola”.

At first, I thought many of them were scared.  But I soon realized it was sheer Awe! They looked deeply into my eyes and saw I was “real”.  Voices were timid. I would put my arm on their shoulder and pull them closer for the photo. 

I quickly learned “Say Cheese” is an international phrase.  We said cheese and parents snapped photos and videos.   I heard the desire for bicycles and telephones, hover-boards, Hot-Wheels and all things Frozen (but only Elsa, mind you).  I either responded with “We will see” or “Bueno”.  I would tell them not to forget my cookie and send them off with either a “Merry Christmas” or a “Feliz Navidad”.   And the next one would approach.

The real magic happened when a little boy or girl would impulsively hug me. It was as if it was all they had been waiting to do.  Parents and teachers would “aww” and snap photos.  Inside my suit, I melted.  I am an old man with limited mobility who cannot do many of the things I could in my youth.  But suddenly I was not only valued, but treasured!  The Ho-Ho-Hos now came easily.

Joy filled the room.  I watched as they opened their gifts.  They could not believe they were getting such things.  Before the 3 o’clock bell brought things to an end, a teacher brought 3 precious girls up who had made Christmas tree artwork.  They wanted Santa to have them rather than take them home. Steven explained to them, that I would hang them in my office at the North Pole right near my desk so I could always see them.

Now the great room was empty, the crew set about cleaning up.  Wade one of the Y Directors, escorted me down the halls where the children were lined up to get ready for pick up or to board the buses to head home.

Yet more joy.  High fives, fist bumps, more hugs as I ran the gauntlet to the parking lot.  I remarked to Wade “and here I thought it would have been cool to be one of the Beatles, way back when!”  This had much more value.

It is days later. The suit neatly hung back on hangers and returned to the Y. I have 3 Christmas tree posters in my room. And a warmth in my heart that just won’t go away.

I’ve just had the pleasure of having 3 of my grands over for our annual Polar Express movie night. As my daughters dropped them off, I was able for a moment to hug my daughters and their mom in a group hug.  Again, I melted. We played the part of Peanuts Christmas video where Linus talks about the birth of Christ. We had pizza.  Once the “grown-ups” were gone, we made hot chocolate like in the film. We baked cookies. We talked about ghosts and angels and when grown-ups die.  Little missy announced she never wanted me to go because I am the “best Grampa ever”.   We remembered those we have lost in our family and spoke about family and what we love the most.

These are the good old days.

It’s not about stuff. It’s about human connections.  Time shared.  Listening and encouraging.

I am blessed beyond words. Thank you, Lord.  Not every holiday is joyous for everyone. I have certainly had some dark ones. But there are also some wonderful ones.  Like those kids in that cafeteria, who had perhaps never seen so much wonderment, I am here to tell you, give a little of yourself.  Year round. When you least expect it, when you think the best is all in the past, you very well may discover;

The best is yet to come…

… if you can just get out of your seatbelt.

Happy Holidays and a wonderful New Year to all.