“Sometimes a year has been so disastrous and so terrible that entering a new year will automatically mean entering a wonderful year.” —Mehmmet Murat Ildan
We celebrated New Year’s Day at Kim and Al’s spacious and beautifully decorated home. Since they weren’t able to host or be with us on Christmas Eve dinner this year, we held off on the Secret Santa gift giving until yesterday.
I have often described being guests of Kim and Al Chien during Christmas and New Year as entering a magical winter wonderland not only for the kids but adults as well. This is our granddaughter Lyla’s third holiday season and baby sister Emmy’s first. Without 'gilding the Lily,’ as the saying goes, I will let the photos tell the story about the ambience, the special decorations including a stunning Christmas tree, white gift stockings on the fire place, collection of colorful nutcrackers, the magnificent table setting, elaborate food preparations complete with a framed menu of the day, and an array of Christmas gifts under the tree. A lot of time and love goes into creating this enchanting experience. It is truly a labor of love and a gift from the heart.
During Thanksgiving we all agreed to randomly draw names out of a hat to become someone’s Secret Santa.
It is a Western Christmas tradition in which members of a group, community or family are randomly assigned a person to whom they give a gift. The indentity of the giver remains a secret and is not revealed until the gift is actually given. What we did, is a variation of a tradition that dates back to a famous origin story of an American philanthropist and business owner named Larry Dean Stewart, who gave anonymous gifts during the Christmas season. Everyone seemed pleased and grateful for their gifts, especially Lyla. For our son Jason’s partner Alex and myself, It was a very special time since our Teslas, a dream car gift to ourselves, had been delivered just in time for the holidays.
In a previous post I had mentioned that our granddaughter Lyla had led us in a chorus of Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer while dancing. The fact that she did this during Thanksgiving Dinner didn’t matter. There was a continuation of the theme, when Kim and Al presented Lyla with a red flashing nose of Rudolf himself that Lyla shared with Al and Uncle Chip.
Postscript: Kim had invited me to deliver a prayer before our meal. I did it in the form of a Poem(s) by Joanna Fuchs, I adapted and modified with my own sentiments and offer it up here called:
The Gift of a New Year
Here’s to the year that’s almost passed its expiration date—2021.
We all had some surprises, didn’t we? Some good, some distressing, some mournful,
Let’s use everything we got from our experiences, everything we learned, to enrich the new year.
Here’s to the new year, 2022, a gift we haven’t fully opened yet.
May its’ bright, shiny package contain even more than we hope for.
Let’s resolve to get less stressed, upset, and anxious about things over which we have no control.
It will resolve itself just in the process of life itself, as it always does.
And even while we’re delighting in new treasures, let’s appreciate fully what we already have.
The blessing we take for granted; make a list, and check it twice.
And here’s to all you wonderful people who are putting up with my post;
I hope the new year you see yourselves the way I see you:
Bright, interesting, fun, and lovable, especially our blessed ones—Lyla and Emmy.
Let us toast 2022. May it be filled with good things, and engulf us with serenity, happiness, and
Transformative possibilities.
May it give a whole new meaning to the phrase, “The Good Life."
