Parenting
Perspectives on Parenting©
by Nancy Lambert Davenport


Nancy Davenport's Column:
For Richardson News 12-25-94
Copyright Nancy Lambert Davenport 1994


Family and traditions are what holiday is about

I don't have confidence that this column is going to be read in a timely manner in many households today. If I am lucky, people will doze after a large meal, with lounge chair at full extension and the newspaper across chest and face, discreetly covering an open mouth. I really won't mind. In fact, that will be great. Maybe osmosis will take place from the paper to the brain.

I remember as a child after Christmas dinner and all the dishes were washed, dried and put away, some adults scrambled to find a secluded bed upon which to nap. The hardier ones fought that inclination and organized a vigorous group walk or a football game.

I loved the walks. In San Antonio where I grew up, fall came late so the leaves were still blowing around. The air was always crisp (except one Christmas Day I remember hit 90°) and it seldom rained. On these strolls, I saw the hills of the neighborhood as if they were new territory. On Christmas day the world looked different. Even my brother was nice to me.

I've had a bunch of Christmases since then, yet our family traditions of large meals and walks have changed little. The people present at the family get-togethers have varied. We have made adjustments to welcome new family members through birth or marriage. And I could say we have had to say goodbye to old ones, but we really haven't. That is because Christmas is one of those days that our absent loved ones are foremost in our thoughts, and that makes them present with us.

They are beside us on the long walks reminding us to watch our step or pointing out a lone mockingbird holding a concert high in a pecan tree. They race with us to catch the football pass, if only by pointing the way with a cane. They are near us as we eat the mincemeat pie from which everyone dutifully takes a slice so great-grandmother won't get her feelings hurt. They are there in the hand-crocheted napkins, carefully mended.

The young children are there too although they are now grown. Their pictures hang on the Christmas tree, framed by the shape of a star. Their little faces shine above the glitter surrounding them. Their handmade decorations cause time to stand still around the Christmas tree.

So please enjoy your nap with my column shielding your face. It's an honor to be part of your Christmas.


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Nancy Lambert Davenport
EMAIL: nancdave@swbell.net
URL: http://www.nancyldavenport.com