Unexpected Gems

As January comes into focus, I’m trying to get back on schedule. Somewhere around December 23, I lost track of the days and only yesterday did I remember that there is a column to write and a calendar to follow! With visitors in and out and special gatherings interspersed throughout, I found it hard to stick to any kind of routine. We still managed our daily walk at the park but every other usual schedule was upended. We stayed up later, slept in longer, ate at odd hours, and talked more than our usual introverted selves. 

Today, I sit quietly by the wood stove, sipping my coffee, and I’m slowly settling back into the everyday. Though we didn’t physically travel this holiday, we traveled in other ways, following the detours that come with the traveling. It is always uncharted territory when family gathers. What murky memories might surface? What roadside attractions stop us along the way? And will we arrive safely at the end of journey?

I approach these gatherings in the same way that I travel. I plan the basic outline of where we are going and where we will stay but what happens in the everyday is up to me as I absorb it and live it. I try to make the most of the opportunities that arise. And, often, I leave with unexpected gems in my pocket.

And that’s how we finished three puzzles, made and ate the best cheese fondue with the best bread and visited numerous local watering holes with out-of-town family. But one glowing gem emerged. On the last day of the year, as a way to put bygones aside, I retrieved three cardboard boxes from the basement for a family member to go through. I needed to know if they should be thrown out and thought it would be nice to have them out of the house before the new year started. As she pulled books and papers out, she found two slim volumes, one with a letter protruding. With a sad glance, she silently motioned me with her eyes to look at them. I casually picked them up as she had and, as I opened them, I immediately knew why she had been wordless. These books had been a gift from my now deceased father. They carried so much more than pages and letters. Without yet a word spoken between us, we slowly folded into each other’s arms and cried. We both knew we had just experienced a visit from beyond.

My Dad and I

As I leap into the new year, I continue to look for those hidden gems that often emerge when we are not looking for them and that might be lying right under our feet. And maybe I will see them in the new light of the new year.