Christmas Direct

“After many weeks of discussion and debate my wife and I had reached a stalemate… A very cold and lonely truce of sorts.

I had resigned myself to plans of moving out, depressing thoughts of an impending divorce and how that would affect our precious baby girl.

With the holidays rapidly approaching we, my wife and I, agreed to focus our attention on our daughter Alissa, wanting to ensure that our last Christmas together with her was a special one.

The following Saturday morning we got up out of bed very early with plans of starting to decorate the house for Christmas. We were quietly unpacking wreathes and outdoor lights; although technically, we still were not speaking… Suddenly, my wife came across a small box. I could see her opening the top and could vaguely make out two letters on its side “K&L “. I vaguely recognized the box yet, I knew right away what the initials stood for, (Kevin & Lisa).

A few minutes later I noticed that she had stopped packing. I turned to see her standing there, staring intensely at something she had found inside that little black box. She held it firmly in her hands and then pressed it against her bosom as Tears began to stream down her face. She looked towards me and I knew immediatley that she had been struck very deeply by something.

She began moving towards me and before I could ask what was the matter, she gently took my hand, opened it and placed a tiny, folded, crimson piece of paper in my palm. I recognized it immediately, it was a Christmas card from 1994. I had given it to her on our fourth Christmas together.

As I began to read the card for myself, a rush of emotions began to swell up inside of me. There in my hand was a small homemade Christmas card; pasted inside was a picture of Lisa and I standing in front of my mothers ancient artificial Christmas tree. There were antique candles lining the window sill and on the table top. In fact, we were virtually bathed in the warming organic glow of natural light. The entire room seemed vibrantly alive, a swirl with the ambiance of Christmas Eve.

It was like, for an instant, we had travelled through time.. We were somehow transformed, standing in that room, devoid of the present and the myriad of chaotic life events which had brought us to our breaking point.

There we were… young, full of life, in love; locked in a very warm and passionate embrace.

I remember that night, vividly
, as did she…. The two of us cuddling lovingly, lying across a small couch in the den of my parents house. Warmed only by what we felt inside for one another. Two hearts, still glowing like a burning flame long after the last of the candlesticks had lost its spark.

That very night we had decided to commit wholeheartedly to spending the rest of our lives together. One look at that small, crinkled seemingly insignificant piece of paper spoke to each of our hearts in a powerful language that we once understood so fluently. It’s almost as if the words themselves had somehow forgotten their own meanings.

One look back at the warmth and passion we once shared somehow strengthened our mutual desire to hold on to the things that had inspired such awesome beauty in our lives; not the least of which is our precious little angel Allysa.

You see, I am still in love with my wife and she with me. Simply put, we got lost. We got tired and worn down, no longer expressing care and affection through our words & actions towards one another. We had become as two robots, endowed with the full array of modern feature and function but none of the feeling… Yet, again, in that single moment; there in that dark dusty garage, staring down at that crinkled little card; we both realized that our love was still worth fighting for.

“Often it is within that single moment of recollection that we find absolute redemption and life altering revelation.”

Can you relate to their struggle?

Is there something that you possess, a memory, a keepsake, anything that can be used to rekindle the flame or just brighten up your day.
Maybe your relationships and life are just as you would have them be, perfect. even if that is the case, there’s something about Christmas, it’s relics and traditions that seems to brighten up even a the most bubbly disposition!
An ornament sparks a joyful child hood memory; a box of pastel string lights
envokes pictures of dad on a ladder hanging them around the roof while great smelling things were being cooked in the kitchen.

The treasures of Christmas; decorations, lights, gift’s, greeting cards, etc.
. have always been and always will be priceless in terms of what they add to the life and feel of the holiday experience. These timeless holiday trinkets passed down from generation to generation often outshine the momentary luster of any new gadget or gizmo that is great while it’s new but quickly forgotten about as time goes by.

Until we chat again…

May you all have a very special Holiday season.

Peace & Love … Kevin

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