Last night, in a (finally) quiet Christmas Day moment, we recounted favorite presents and how good Santa and family members had been to us. Without prompting, the seven year-old said, “I want to give more next year.”
Yes, that made me proud but that’s not the point of sharing the anecdote. Our Christmas was overwhelmingly happy and full of little quips we might or might not remember like “Did Santa clean our basement?” and a three year-old that repeatedly SHOUTED, “I always wanted that for Christmas” each time he opened a gift. It was full of belly laughs and loud-talking Cooneys (Portland and Boston editions included), Dark ‘N’ Stormies, “Oh My God” Key Lime pie, the best seafood in America and Amazon Primed remote-controlled Ford F-150’s. Gratitude abounds.
Facebook-land was a mirror of this good fortune yesterday as most of you celebrated similar blessings with at once similar, yet unique traditions. So much fun peeking in on your day from Australia to Germany and up the street.
It was “All good” except we know it is not “All good.” How do we reconcile this luck, this warmth and love with so many others who are hungry, cold, lonely and broken? Those here and surprisingly close to us, and those so far away, like Syrian refugee moms and dads worried about a path forward for their families.
“I want to give more next year.” That’s a really reasonable intention for 2014.
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