Merry Christmas, Readers

I spent the day at home with the teenager, watching him unwrap presents from family and friends and delight in the joy of sewing new firefighter patches onto a jacket. He has always had an interest in custom clothing. I slept in a little bit before then and woke up to one of my neighbors dropping off some baked goods.

It was then time to get up and shower before I started cooking Christmas dinner, which consisted of sweet potato yams with brown sugar, marshmallows, and butter; collard greens; mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, Honey Baked Ham, turkey stuffing, and zero-sugar Coca-Cola for drinks. Christmas dessert was lemon slice cake with chocolate ice cream, and then for myself, I bought a 24-pack of Ferrero Rocher. It was a decent dinner, and I am full as I write this.

We spent the day watching a couple of movies. Well, the teenager was in his room watching one of my favorite childhood shows, Third Watch, while sewing his jacket patches, and I was in the living room watching my favorite teenhood movie, With Honors, which I always seem to watch around this time of the year because it’s just based around the holidays. Each time I watch it, I find something relatable to my life, but this time it was a little bit close to home. If you haven’t watched it, I don’t want to spoil it, but to reveal how I relate to it, I kind of have to give away some of the plot.

The main character is a college student, Monty Kessler, who has the goal of graduating with honors. It is a soft goal of mine as well, but without spoiling the movie, it looks like he and I will end up in the same boat, or at least for now as I graduate from community college. However, it is to be determined if I’ll graduate with honors in a couple of years from university. The plot itself revolves around Monty and another character, Simon, and their relationship. Simon, played by Joe Pesci, is a homeless ‘Harvard bum’ who ends up showing Monty there’s more to life than superficial goals, so to speak, and the movie is a bit of a tearjerker the further the plot advances.

Simon ends up sick, and just like Monty, I am close to someone in my life who is that word of wisdom for me, just like Simon is for Monty, and this person in my life at this very moment happens to be sick as well. Very sick. I’m not sure what the outcome will be, but I don’t feel good about it, it’s been a bit of a hard acceptance, and I am not ready to accept the alternative. It’s the first time that I’ve watched this movie and felt as if I am living in Monty’s exact shoes.

I have written about this movie on here more than once, as it’s one of my favorite movies that has played a role in my life at times. Perhaps all these years, this movie was a foreshadowing of my own life. Either way, I know I’ll be okay just like the character, but in the meantime, I hope to continue to grow and cherish as much time as I have with this person who’s become a very close family friend to both myself and the teen.

After watching that, we spent the rest of the evening watching the movie The Perfect Holiday, and then we enjoyed some more Christmas desserts and spent the rest of the evening relaxing. It was a nice Christmas, one filled with reflection and gratitude with the understanding that not everyone had a good Christmas, for various reasons one or another.

One of the first things I told my teenager this morning after he opened his presents was to take a moment to be thankful to be in a room filled with warmth, love, and gifts because not everyone woke up today in the same position.

With that said, I’m glad that the holidays are over, as this year was a lot to digest, and I’m looking forward to a new start in the new year. Take care until next time.