JOIN USChristmas is around the corner and everyone's abuzz planning for the big festival. Many will take trips to spend Christmas at an exotic location or with family abroad. Some will be making preparations to receive guests from overseas and elsewhere. Scores of others will be busy decorating homes, going carol singing, preparing yummy treats, shopping and reveling in the joys of this most cherished time of the year.
Yet for a few like me, this Christmas will be spent in grief at the passing away of a loved one during the year. Having lost my dad earlier in the year, Christmas for me, forebodes a deep longing for a dear person who will be missed. In my sorrow, I will walk down memory lane and cull out the happiness of the Christmases of yore that I have spent with my dad.
Like the jolly Santa with a bag load of gifts for children, my dad made all those childhood Christmases ever so remarkable by bring all the joys of the festivity for his family through his dedication and labour. But what really impressed me about my dad is the Santa Claus he played in his twilight years, when he gave away gifts of enduring value to all around him.
As my dad spent his old-age in grace and gratitude he gave away the gift of peace to his family; through silence and patient endurance of failing health and discomfort, never indulging in bitterness, he gave away the gift of tolerance to those around; living his sunset years ever so cheerfully and calmly, he gave away the gift of his precious smile to all who stopped by to meet and greet him; by his noble and well-lived life, he gave away the gift of good example to his children.
These are the gifts that I will hold on to as I remember my dad this Christmas. For unlike the gifts of my childhood days that have lost their luster over the years, the ones that I received later from him will accompany me, reminding me of life's true treasures. These gifts will abide with me and be a remembrance that nothing can be more precious than to have had a father who during Christmas played that extra role of being a Santa Claus to his little children all through their childhood and later gave away gifts of far reaching values to his grown-up children. And I know in my heart that these gifts will be my best comfort through my grief and longing. They will keep the memories of a dear dad evergreen, this Christmas and through all the Christmases to come.