A Brand-New Ending

By G. E. Shuman

          As I write this, it’s early morning on December 26. (My submission deadline at the paper is today and, well, Christmas kind of consumes a lot of time around our house, so I got up early today to say hello to you.) As you read this, it’s much closer to the new year, or maybe the ball has already dropped, the tree and decorations are down, and we have all taken that leap into a brand new year and, this time, a brand new decade too.

          I know that I say this every year, at least to myself and probably to you, but I simply can’t believe we have burned through another 365 ¼ days again already. (I included the ¼ day because of leap year, and yup, those 6 hours count somewhere too.)

          At my age, if you are anywhere near my age, the years seem to fly by at an ever-increasing pace. (The analogy of a race car speeding down a hill is okay, but race cars don’t really drive on hills. A better one might be my old VW Beetle picking up speed, driving downhill.)  I have always thought that it could be, seriously, that each passing year is a smaller percentage of the total time we have lived, and so seems shorter to us than the ones before. See how deep a thinker I am? Actually, I didn’t make that up. I read it someplace, like most other things you read in my column that seem to make sense. Another thing I once read, and this one is for myself and any of my less than cultured reader-friends, (I don’t mean you personally.) is that “Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end, the faster it goes.” Somehow that really does seem a reasonable comparison, at least to me.

          I visited an old friend a week ago, (It was two weeks ago to you, you ‘hip’ New Year’s reader-person.)  and he made a passing comment about the year and the passing of time that I thought was observant and a bit scary. My friend is a tad older than I am and much wiser. His comment came as we were chatting about family, and our kids, grandkids, and even great-grandkids. Wow. We both agreed that all of them are all much older than they should be now; neither of us had the faintest idea of how that all happened. Then my friend, (Hi Gus, I’m writing about you.) said something to the effect of, and I paraphrase here: “They’re all pretty busy pushing us out the door.” My friend might not remember saying this, but I thought it was profound and precise. (Note to the kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids: Hey guys, we love ya all, but we ain’t goin’ through that door yet!)

          Yes, another new year is upon us, and I want to leave 2019 with a bit of other advice for us all that is also something I read, somewhere. It has to do with the entirety of life and time, that time before us and behind us, but I also think it applies as well to the year behind and the one ahead. It is, and this is another paraphrase: “You can’t go back and make a new beginning, but you can begin today and make a brand-new ending.”  How’s that for a worthwhile resolution?

          Happy New Year to all of my family, and to my World Newspaper family and friends! Let’s make it a great one!

          

Christmas, Simply

(Dear Readers, I wrote this column two Decembers ago. I hope you don't mind that I'm repeating it here. We, in our home, are attempting to continue simplifying Christmas and appreciating it more each year. Merry Christmas to you and your family!)

By G. E. Shuman

                I think that the only time I enjoy the dark and cold of this time of the year is in the evening, as Christmas approaches.  I enjoy the ‘feel’ of our old home, as it battles the cold and shields us from everything outside. I like the warmth of an occasional fire in the fireplace, the glow of candles, and the lights of the Christmas tree. 

                Lorna and I decided, months ago, to do what we could to simplify this best holiday of all, in our home this year.  Presents have been intentionally trimmed back, therefore so has the stress of shopping.  Our decorating has been lessened, as has the time and trouble of all of that. Likewise, the ‘undecorating of the week after the holiday should also be less painful than usual. Even our tree is much smaller than those of “Christmas’s past” in the Shuman household.  (Who knows, maybe a small tree would make the fewer, smaller gifts look bigger, if that had been the goal, which it was not.)

                I mentioned in my last column our attempts at returning to a Christmas celebration of simpler times.  Our past few Christmas trees have been adorned with simple ornaments and strings of popcorn, as were those of many years ago.  This year we have even attempted, with mixed success, to find ‘old fashioned’ gift wrap, and did find an antique-looking smaller treetop star for our little tree.  (As someone slowly recovering from many years in the overdone Christmas’s of the retail world, these steps toward the simplification of our Christmas celebration just seem right to me.)

                The weekend after Christmas our extended family, with our kids and their families, will gather together for a huge holiday meal, and that is always a wonderful time for us. Because of this, I would like to keep our actual Christmas Day dinner on the simpler side, as with the rest of the day. My vote is for a ham in the oven and a crockpot full of veggies, on that day.  To me, in the case of possessions, celebrations, and even in the planning of meals, less is often more.

                Yes, this year our family’s Christmas Day will probably be simpler and less exciting than some in years past. To me, that’s okay, and even comforting, somehow.  Christmas Eve, especially, will be peaceful at our house, lit by candles and a twinkling tree star, and warmed by thoughts of the true meaning and miracle of what is to come… sort of like on that very first Christmas Eve, long ago.