Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea

Joy to you and me!

Here we come, into the holidays. My two independent elder children will be off with their friends. I will see little of them. My youngest will be at his mother’s this Christmas. I am grateful it is a rotation, but I can find it a bit hard.

We will all try to be together for a meal (Dad doing all the cooking & cleanup) between Christmas and New Year’s, but it is not as I would have liked a family celebration to be.

Still in all, I am happy. My connection with my children survived the marital meltdown. And I have a friendship with my former wife.

My problem has been avoiding being a reclusive grump! Looking back, I should have taken the time to gather a wider circle of friends. Actually making time to have space of my own.

As the kids are older, I have been blessed with more friends about me. I have been more considerate of them and enjoyed more time off with them. There were always some kind people about me — I just internalised too much and did not let them encourage me. That’s unfair on them and unhealthy for me.

On that point of being open came a nice holiday opportunity. My youngest will stay with a friend’s family in their beach house (I wish) in January. So, I suggested: what about you, their kids and me hiring a boat to go fishing one day? Sort of a small return for the family hospitality?

“Yeah! Far out.” and “Cool!” were the eager replies. So, it looks like I got a boatload of teenagers. But wait, there’s more! My daughter wanted to know why she wasn’t invited. Sure, come along. Her boyfriend too? Why not!

Then I thought my least likely son might like to come. Great! Me too!

All of a sudden I have a family holiday day trip that feels like a celebration even before it happens. No effort and no expense so far, but I have regained a whole lot of joy!

I am about to make a booking, and I am writing this while in ignorance of the cost. It may be: “Catch some fish you kids, or I got no food for the week!” but who cares? I am having fun before it starts.

May the joy and peace of Christmas be yours too. God bless you!

___

by Steve Gray
Photo by Tatiana Twinslol from Pexels.