PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

 I took our annual Christmas family portrait yesterday…

as usual it was a time of jubilation…

and once again I noticed we’re a family

in a state of transformation.

We’ve all grown another year older

but it really is much more…

for none of us are the exact same person 

we were the year before…

School and jobs and life in general

alter us a little every day….

This portrait shows us face-timing

with the three of our family members who’ve moved away.

We couldn’t all get together this Christmas

which is why we had to Zoom…

but their laughter and their love…even in two dimensions

found their way into the room .

As our family has grown and changed…as all families do

the traditions we make along the way…must change a little too.

As we find new ways to get together…before we know it…lo and behold

new traditions like phoenixes….emerge from out the old.

As I looked at my family through the camera

as they all came into view…

I realized what’s important isn’t how we get together…

what’s important…is that we do.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The other morning on our walk we came across a Christmas octopus.

Having never seen one before we thought…with him we have so much to discuss.

Trying not to frighten him…we walked up and whispered in his ear…

“Hey little octopus, can you tell us…what in the name of Christmas are you doing here?”

“We know every Christmas decoration…Santa, reindeer, snowmen…wreaths upon the door….

but an octopus at Christmas…this we’ve never seen before!” 

“Why am I a symbol of Christmas?” The octopus smiled.

“Well here’s a good place to start…The holiday season is a time for giving 

and who better to know about giving than an octopus…I have three hearts!”

“We are known throughout the world for our intelligence and wisdom…

Let me give you something to think about…just for fun….

It took three wise men to find a baby in a manger…

If they had asked us octopuses…it would have only taken one!”

“Christmas is a time for hopes and dreams and wishes…

You fold your hands in prayer and hope those prayers will soar…

Well…in the time you’ve sent up one prayer…with eight arms I’ve already sent up four!”

“Christmas is a time to think of those we love and those we’ve lost

As well as the changes in the world we’d like to create….

Who understands this better than me…an animal who can change his color, his shape…

and when I lose a limb…I regenerate!”

“So when you ask me why I am a symbol of Christmas.” He said with a big old octopus grin…

“I have to answer with a question of my own…Why haven’t I always been?”

We thanked the octopus for enlightening us…for helping us understand

We wished him a Merry Christmas and shook every one of his eight hands.

Then putting his arms around us he said, “Merry Christmas!” 

with the biggest smile on his face…

And I can tell you…from this day forward 

no Christmas will be complete

without an octopus embrace.

Some people say I’m a dreamer…an idealist…a Pollyanna

some people, I imagine, just like you. 

They say I have unrealistic hopes and dreams and wishes…

that my wishes will never come true!

I know there are certain aspects of life we cannot wish away

that are the cause of heartache and pain.

people we love getting older…dying…

Tornadoes, earthquakes, floods and hurricanes.

But there are other parts of life…of living…

of who we are every day

that the Pollyanna in me believes can be wished away.

The wishes I make come from deep inside my heart, my mind…and my soul…

The wishes I make deal with the parts of our lives I know we can control.

It’s funny how the older I get…I make these wishes more and more

I wish there was no hatred in the world…no hunger…no prejudice…no war.

I wish all the people in the world were kinder…more understanding

more accepting of everyone

I wish no on ever again had to die from bombs…or from the bullets of a gun.

And another wish I’ll add to this little Christmas sonnet…

I wish we took better care of the Earth and all the creatures on it.

Yes, some who hear my wishes say I am an idealist…a dreamer…a Pollyanna

and of course I know it’s true

So my final wish is that the rest of the world was filled with Pollyannas too.

Every year she asks him what he’d like for Christmas…

If there’s any special present he’d like to unwrap Christmas Day. 

Every year she asks…

even thought she already knows what he’s going to say.

It’s the same wish I make every year…he smiles

and for many years now it has come true….

I’d like another year surrounded 

by my family, 

my friends…

and another year with you.

Walking early in the morning along the waning edges of a silent night

I saw the flash of a shooting star under the full moon shining bright.

And I thought how Christmas is like that star across the sky I saw soar

over in an instant…and each one a little different than the one before.

It’s a moment if we’re lucky to experience… 

we pin some hopes, and dreams and wishes on….

then we blink, we turn around…and that moment’s gone.

In an instant that shooting star opened up a door

into a room within my mind where all my Christmas memories are stored.

I remember when I was young and I had Santa’s ear

Christmas was all about the presents he would bring me every year.

I’m not sure the exact year Christmas changed for me…

when it became half about the presents and half about family…

And, again, since time moves so quickly I’m sure I am forgetting

when the giving of the gifts became more pleasurable than the getting.

And as this Christmas flashes by like that shooting star

If I have a chance this year…

I’m too big to sit upon his lap

but if I could whisper in his ear 

I’d say, Santa…her’s my wish…

my only wish…for what it’s worth….

I wish for peace and health and happiness 

for everyone 

and everything 

that graces planet Earth.

I love the holiday season…getting together with friends and family.

I love the tradition, in our house, of seeing presents underneath the Christmas tree. 

As I watch our family open presents once a year 

I’m always hoping I will also find a way

to provide them with the kind of gifts they can open every day.

The everyday gifts we give that to someone means so much…

our smile, our laughter, a helping hand, a hug…a gentle touch.

How we make sure they are clothed and fed…

that their shoes are on the correct feet…and tied…

All those stories we read, all those games we play…

every horsey and piggy-back ride.

A kiss when they need it, our encouragement, our kindness…

making sure they see

we are a piece of the life they’re living…a part of their happy memories. 

How we help give wings to their hopes and dreams…

How we listen to what they have to say…

How we support them wherever they go in life…even if they fly away.

What makes these gifts so special is that what we’re really giving is our time…

We don’t have to shop for them…they do not cost a dime.

And whenever we give these gifts we quickly come to learn

even though we don’t expect it…they’ve back so much in return.

So…this year whatever holiday you celebrate..

once the presents are opened and the wrapping paper is thrown away…

take a moment to sit back, smile and think about

all the gifts you give and receive each day.

Colored lights, Santa Claus and his reindeer, holiday music floating in the air…

look around and you’ll see there are signs of Christmas everywhere.

It’s streaming on our TV’s, playing on our radios…it’s on every child’s face.

and this year I discovered a new sign…in the most unlikely place.

After Ollie and Abby (their little ones) awoke from their afternoon nap

Kayla and Joe (our neighbors) took them to see Santa…so they could sit upon his lap.

When Ollie finished with with his list he gave Santa’s beard a tug…

Santa smiled, handed Ollie a candy cane which he licked…

then ran and gave his mom a hug.

It was one of those precious moments upon which future memories will be drawn

but soon after they left Santa they realized Ollie’s candy cane was gone!

They searched high and low even even going back to check the ground…

but the candy cane that Santa gave to Ollie was nowhere to be found.

This family is resilient, however, and they continued on their way

determined not to let one lost candy cane spoil their beautiful day.

And what a beautiful day it was..so many places they visited…so many wonders they did see…

celebrating the Christmas season together as a family.

Hours later when they were home…with music still wafting through the air

Kayla for the first time noticed…there was something in her hair.

She pulled out Ollie’s missing candy cane and thought to herself…this is crazy… 

then immediately filled with dread.

All those places she went…all those people she saw and no one…

not even her family…noticed…Ollie’s candy cane sticking to her head?

It’s a story they’ll remember…a memory I’m sure they’ll tap

long after their children are too old to sit on Santa’s lap.

And for me…as Christmas Day’s approaches 

when those first notes of Christmas music fill the air…

along with Santa and his reindeer I’ll be keeping track of all the candy canes

I see stuck in Mommy’s hair.

This Christmas season children of all ages…from 4 to almost 72

have filled out their wish lists and asked me to send them along to you.

They had to be honest about their behavior…which caused a few aches and pains.

Some checked Very Good, others Good

but my favorites were the ones who checked Naughty…but I can explain.

I’m sure, being Santa, you’ve already seen their lists…you already know all of their names…

and you also know exactly what they want…who’s asking for toys and who wants games.

But if, during your busy schedule, you’ll allow me a moment to take part

I’d like to highlight a few of their wishes that made me smile…

and touched my heart.

Tabitha wants a best friend.

Cindy is hoping you bring her a loving partner this year.

Bobby wants his mom to know how much he loves her

Billy would love for his little sister to be able to hear.

Joe wants to spend more time with the people he loves.

Ed, who lost his house in the hurricane, would like a new one…

your choice…large or small…

Evelyn would like a puppy

Georgie wants a toy frog…a toy frog and that is all.

Santa, I imagine through the years you’ve heard similar wishes a thousand times before…

But before I go, with your permission, I would love to add one more.

Eight-year-old Amelia made this wish and, personally, I can’t think of a better one…

She asked for a kinder gentle world and under her tree she’d like you to leave…

a pretty big cinnamon bun.

So there you have it Santa…when Amelia and the rest of us rise this Christmas morning

I’m hoping we wake up to see….

A kinder, gentler world out there…and

one pretty big cinnamon bun under our trees.

Thank you Santa

Your friend,

Jim (almost 72 years old)

May we be blessed to understand how Christmas

will always be magical in the eye of the beholder….

even when the eye of the beholder

grows a little older

Even when we’re a little wiser…

a little better informed

as to where the magic comes from

and as to how it is performed.