Carnivores, Christmas, and Good Cheer!

As we are about to enter a whole new decade, with a multitude of unique experiences under our belts from the first decade of the 21st century…

…as well as having glimpsed some exciting peeks into what the 2010+ decade will bring us… I say it’s time to reflect on some evergreen yet fresh ideas to make our future the best we can!

So here’s something I learned over the holidays, spending time with family and closest relatives.

Before Christmas I received a wish list from my always inventive eleven-year old godson Henri. It came filled with wishes completely incomprehensible to adults, such as “Doom Unit – Cross The Line CD” or “CCM Octo Gun RC rocket”.

I haven’t the faintest idea about those, but fortunately his list also included some easily understandable things, such as a long time wish for a carnivorous plant. On a list dominated by video games, DVDs and robots, this was a delightful find so I jumped on it.

photo credit: tinney

Turned out, to look for a carnivorous plant was one of the most fun things I did while preparing for Christmas.

As I finally found the plant, I found myself standing in line with the flesh-eating monstrosity in hand, at a big department store with dozens of people in queue before me.

This lead to some incredibly fun conversations with strangers about carnivorous plants - I heard some fascinating stories of how to best take care of such a thing. They all chipped in with their own tips and experiences:

- “My carnivorous plant died when I stopped feeding it dead flies…”

- “No no no, don’t give it flies, fish food does the trick just as well…”

- “Listen, all it takes is to give it tons of water…”

And on and on it went. It was such fun just to listen to this sprawling conversation, and as we all stood in line there and laughed.. time stood still for us.

Talking with these unknown people, suddenly not stressing out about Christmas shopping but laughing and telling stories, relaxed me and effortlessly carried me into a most genuine Christmas mood.

So for Christmas, we went to my sister-in-law’s place.

While there, another remarkable event was meeting my 11-year old godson after not seeing him for six months. It reminded me of just how fast childhood passes by. In my experience you don’t notice it as clearly with your own kids, as you are with them most of the time and just absorb the changes.

This time, I could see the signs of approaching teenage years apparent in my godson’s way of being.

At times I could see it in his glance; it was hard for him to choose whether to act like a child, a teenager… or something in between. It was also heartwarming to see how his older sister empathetically took in the feelings of her younger brother.

Meeting these two - a preteen boy and a girl in her late teens, reminded me how important it is to just happily spend time together.

And sometimes do something special together to stay connected with your kids, so it will be easier to communicate with them during the more demanding times later in life. And to keep a good relationship with them, so that after they’ve finally flown out of the nest, it’ll be easy to welcome them back any time.

Based on these important moments I had during Christmas, I made one new year’s promise to myself: to do my best to stay connected with my nearest and dearest. I know it is just one small promise to make, but it may end up being the most demanding one to keep - and ultimately the most rewarding.

With that, I wish you many rewarding, enriching moments with your loved ones in this upcoming year!

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Tagged as: christmas, family, gifts, growing up, teenage