This instantly made me want to call my mom! It reminded me of those commercials in the 90s for long distance calling plans. I think that is why Sunday is still the day that I reach out and call those from afar who I love and miss. Because it was always cheaper to call long distance on Sundays back when we paid by the minute or even by the letter to talk to each other! Kids today will never know what it was like to completely relearn how to read and write without using vowels just to save money on text messages! But now, for the small sacrifice of all our personal data so they can better sell things to us, we can call, text and video conference for free! Oh the convenience! I have always been long distance, for as long as I can remember. I moved away at 17 to the other side of the country and then even further way to Guatemala. Sunday family calls have been fundamental in making sure even from afar, we are together and we share our time.
Here Christmas is more focused on spending time with family and loved ones. The mass consumerism is encroaching under the guise of "development". But the fundamentals of Christmas here are still getting together with family, eating tamales, and getting a flashy new outfit to show off on December 24th. The idea of Santa leaving presents under the tree is still a novelty and most people at least in the rural area where I am don't have trees up. I get to have a pretty magical Christmas since, I am basically BFFs with SANTA!! (NDB) We host a huge Christmas celebration where we invite over 500 kids and their families from the communities around us to join us for toys, tamales and turkey! Our staff will butcher the 2 pigs we have raised with love all year and work from 3am on to make over 700 tamales which we will share and eat for days. I cook the 7 turkeys that will be shared with the children and for our sit down dinner after all the villagers go to their homes to continue their celebrations. This year many of the kids who grew up here as orphans are coming home with their own kids to share Christmas with us and so it will be a special tradition that we are creating for the next generation. We are only accessible by water, so we decorate our boat as Santa's sleigh with Reindeer and lights and then Santa and Mrs Claus and I with our trusty boat captain make our way down the river to where the kids and their families are waiting for us! It's pretty great. But it is a lot of coordination and it means that I never get a chance to go home to Canada to be with my family there. I love to spend the 25th hanging out on video calls with my friends and family so it's kind of perfect that all the action here in on the 24th. The 25th people are with their families and so there is peace and time to rest. The whole country shuts down and even the buses stop for the day. I love that there is still a sense of family time over capitalism at least for a day. Remember when things were just closed on Sundays and you had no choice but to spend time with your families?
Time is our biggest defence in the face of vapid consumerism. So let's value it and share it wisely and give it a greater worth than the things. Because the things are fleeting and time is forever.
That Christmas celebration sounds flipping amazing and a memorable experience for those who attend I'm sure! You and your staff sound like you're all in on the giving of the season! Love it!
Tyler, you always have a way of reaching me like no other, and this time, wowza! We lost my dad mid October 2016 and everything fell apart. That year what was left of my family decided we no longer cared about things under the tree, or celebrating a holiday where our entire family was no longer gathered. Not to mentioned we are scattered around the U.S. and it's hard to come together financially and physically.
Christmas used to be the end all be all holiday for my immediate and extended family. A huge celebration over several days and hundreds of miles. So much laughter and love and food!
Now it's just me and and my memories, and the earnest wishing for those days to return. Not for the presents. Because as you said, it's not the presents I remember. But for the times spent with family in joy, happiness, and celebration. A time to come together and and just be "PRESENT".
I understand completely. It is only my husband, daughter, and me for any holiday. No friends or family [what is left of it], as they are too far away. Or otherwise engaged. My step family fell apart after my dad died. And that began the distancing. And yet, I love the three of us and we make the best of the day together. It's always lovely.
I sincerely hope that you have a warm and happy holiday. <3 g
Dang, getting all teary eyed with this one: It’s time, and it’s always been time, and it’s the only thing you should ever truly worry about gifting. Be there, be there beside those you adore, and let them have the unbelievable award of your presence. --- This is motivating me to do my best to soak it all in and give my full attention to anyone I will be around.
Wonderful! I don’t remember when my son and I decided exactly to shift from things to experiences for gifts...sometime around the tween years where he moved away from toys and into thinking bigger about his life: philosophy, travel, adventure, and connection. Although there are always a few needed items under the tree still, we do in fact fill our time together with experiences instead. Today marks the official start of our holiday week of experiences for this year; in about an hour we are off to see our first of several Broadway plays, there will be a museum visit this week, and a Knicks game on Christmas Day. Being able to share this time with him, especially the laughter and the meaningful conversations that usually follow, has become priceless, especially knowing that I only have a couple of years left before he leaves for college or a life of his own creation. Time is so very precious and things are a poor substitute for quality connection. May you all have a holiday season with wholehearted connection! ❤️
Time...it's the true/real gift! I have a small family (the 4-10 range)...for Christmas we decided a couple of years ago to just do a book exchange...we each make our list and we each buy one book for each person. And we promised to discuss and follow-up after the books were read in the the next year. Which we have done. Which means - more TIME spent together. I love this community...when I get distracted by the rest of it all, it always brings me back to what is important. Thank you Tyler, and Lady G, and all of you in this very special group. Wishing you all peace during this solstice season. xo
Thank you for this reminder. We usually keep things pretty simple in my immediate family circle. We've never been extravagant gift givers. But I still find myself feeling every year like I should buy more or do more. It's easy to forget how valuable time and sharing love is. That's what it's really about.
and this song ... for some reason it just came to mind as you were reading ... "time, there's always time, on my mind ... " ...Older Chests / Damien Rice
We aren’t extravagant for Christmas, never could afford to be. It’s more about the traditions. Making ornaments together and going to Christmas markets in the weeks prior. Christmas Day we always go eat at Waffle House, leave a big tip, and then see a movie together and visit Grandpa and my Aunt. It’s definitely more about making memories together than buying gifts.
Beautifully written…. I really believe we as a family never take time for granted…. Always an adventure, always with love….
While I don’t completely agree with the whole 5 Love Languages thing, when I have taken the quiz for fun, Quality Time is always by far my number one.
Wow—this message is so, so important, and so well written and expressed. Thank you for sharing!!
This instantly made me want to call my mom! It reminded me of those commercials in the 90s for long distance calling plans. I think that is why Sunday is still the day that I reach out and call those from afar who I love and miss. Because it was always cheaper to call long distance on Sundays back when we paid by the minute or even by the letter to talk to each other! Kids today will never know what it was like to completely relearn how to read and write without using vowels just to save money on text messages! But now, for the small sacrifice of all our personal data so they can better sell things to us, we can call, text and video conference for free! Oh the convenience! I have always been long distance, for as long as I can remember. I moved away at 17 to the other side of the country and then even further way to Guatemala. Sunday family calls have been fundamental in making sure even from afar, we are together and we share our time.
Here Christmas is more focused on spending time with family and loved ones. The mass consumerism is encroaching under the guise of "development". But the fundamentals of Christmas here are still getting together with family, eating tamales, and getting a flashy new outfit to show off on December 24th. The idea of Santa leaving presents under the tree is still a novelty and most people at least in the rural area where I am don't have trees up. I get to have a pretty magical Christmas since, I am basically BFFs with SANTA!! (NDB) We host a huge Christmas celebration where we invite over 500 kids and their families from the communities around us to join us for toys, tamales and turkey! Our staff will butcher the 2 pigs we have raised with love all year and work from 3am on to make over 700 tamales which we will share and eat for days. I cook the 7 turkeys that will be shared with the children and for our sit down dinner after all the villagers go to their homes to continue their celebrations. This year many of the kids who grew up here as orphans are coming home with their own kids to share Christmas with us and so it will be a special tradition that we are creating for the next generation. We are only accessible by water, so we decorate our boat as Santa's sleigh with Reindeer and lights and then Santa and Mrs Claus and I with our trusty boat captain make our way down the river to where the kids and their families are waiting for us! It's pretty great. But it is a lot of coordination and it means that I never get a chance to go home to Canada to be with my family there. I love to spend the 25th hanging out on video calls with my friends and family so it's kind of perfect that all the action here in on the 24th. The 25th people are with their families and so there is peace and time to rest. The whole country shuts down and even the buses stop for the day. I love that there is still a sense of family time over capitalism at least for a day. Remember when things were just closed on Sundays and you had no choice but to spend time with your families?
Time is our biggest defence in the face of vapid consumerism. So let's value it and share it wisely and give it a greater worth than the things. Because the things are fleeting and time is forever.
That Christmas celebration sounds flipping amazing and a memorable experience for those who attend I'm sure! You and your staff sound like you're all in on the giving of the season! Love it!
It’s pretty great. Today I’m sorting through 600lbs of stuffed toys. Side note: Build-a-Bear is the fast fashion of the stuffy world!
I didn’t know that about build-a-bear, but I’m not surprised. They got the stuffy fluffy game on lock down. 🧸
Tyler, you always have a way of reaching me like no other, and this time, wowza! We lost my dad mid October 2016 and everything fell apart. That year what was left of my family decided we no longer cared about things under the tree, or celebrating a holiday where our entire family was no longer gathered. Not to mentioned we are scattered around the U.S. and it's hard to come together financially and physically.
Christmas used to be the end all be all holiday for my immediate and extended family. A huge celebration over several days and hundreds of miles. So much laughter and love and food!
Now it's just me and and my memories, and the earnest wishing for those days to return. Not for the presents. Because as you said, it's not the presents I remember. But for the times spent with family in joy, happiness, and celebration. A time to come together and and just be "PRESENT".
I understand completely. It is only my husband, daughter, and me for any holiday. No friends or family [what is left of it], as they are too far away. Or otherwise engaged. My step family fell apart after my dad died. And that began the distancing. And yet, I love the three of us and we make the best of the day together. It's always lovely.
I sincerely hope that you have a warm and happy holiday. <3 g
Thank you so much Gayle, you as well. <3
Dang, getting all teary eyed with this one: It’s time, and it’s always been time, and it’s the only thing you should ever truly worry about gifting. Be there, be there beside those you adore, and let them have the unbelievable award of your presence. --- This is motivating me to do my best to soak it all in and give my full attention to anyone I will be around.
Wonderful! I don’t remember when my son and I decided exactly to shift from things to experiences for gifts...sometime around the tween years where he moved away from toys and into thinking bigger about his life: philosophy, travel, adventure, and connection. Although there are always a few needed items under the tree still, we do in fact fill our time together with experiences instead. Today marks the official start of our holiday week of experiences for this year; in about an hour we are off to see our first of several Broadway plays, there will be a museum visit this week, and a Knicks game on Christmas Day. Being able to share this time with him, especially the laughter and the meaningful conversations that usually follow, has become priceless, especially knowing that I only have a couple of years left before he leaves for college or a life of his own creation. Time is so very precious and things are a poor substitute for quality connection. May you all have a holiday season with wholehearted connection! ❤️
Time...it's the true/real gift! I have a small family (the 4-10 range)...for Christmas we decided a couple of years ago to just do a book exchange...we each make our list and we each buy one book for each person. And we promised to discuss and follow-up after the books were read in the the next year. Which we have done. Which means - more TIME spent together. I love this community...when I get distracted by the rest of it all, it always brings me back to what is important. Thank you Tyler, and Lady G, and all of you in this very special group. Wishing you all peace during this solstice season. xo
Nice piece, Tyler!
elm
christmas is just a thing now
Thank you for this reminder. We usually keep things pretty simple in my immediate family circle. We've never been extravagant gift givers. But I still find myself feeling every year like I should buy more or do more. It's easy to forget how valuable time and sharing love is. That's what it's really about.
Time and love, time and love, always these two. Always. Thank you for you.
Time
There never seems to be enough
And when there is
We dare to say that we are bored
I am never bored with you
I study the silence for your breath
I bask in your glow
And yet, there is never enough time
Not even in forever
For me to rest in your arms.
ged 12.19.23
and this song ... for some reason it just came to mind as you were reading ... "time, there's always time, on my mind ... " ...Older Chests / Damien Rice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6g1T1R8x1U
We aren’t extravagant for Christmas, never could afford to be. It’s more about the traditions. Making ornaments together and going to Christmas markets in the weeks prior. Christmas Day we always go eat at Waffle House, leave a big tip, and then see a movie together and visit Grandpa and my Aunt. It’s definitely more about making memories together than buying gifts.