Greetings to one and all from beautiful Cape Cod! Once again, the village of Osterville has outdone herself and is becoming that quintessential old New England postcard image....trees and buildings wrapped up like gifts in beautiful twinkling lights, wreaths, and greens with bows adorning the shops! Finally, some cold crisp New England air-perfectly teed up for a magical upcoming Holiday season!
I’d like to thank each and every client who has entrusted their fitness to me this past year. You are all a pleasure to work with and if you are away for the winter months, I wish you and your families a joyous season ahead. Please know that I am so grateful to you all!
When thinking of my Holiday Newsletter this year, I was inspired by the thought of greeting family and friends though our front doors. I mean, if those front doors could talk…what would they say?? So many memories…the happy milestone events, the ones that crushed us, and finally, those beautiful spontaneous moments that we will treasure and remember our entire lives. These memories become stories for generations.
As I walk down memory lane, I stop and look around at my childhood home in 1973…it’s December and always cold with many days dropping some friendly snow flurries. The outdoor evergreens are wrapped in lights that are multicolored and as big as today’s appliance bulbs! There are plastic window lights in the windows held down by masking tape with small red lightbulbs for the flame. Those little red lights-I can still see them now-symbolized more than just Christmas time; they were little red beacons of love, positive energy and strength. Every quality my parents possessed. In 1973, the last baby was born-the youngest, Amy. So that meant we had thirteen (13) in all ranging in age from 16 years old to 5 months. And add to that, we had two dogs and an adopted stray cat.
Walk with me as we enter the front door… It’s warm and cozy and busy this Christmas morning. Santa was generous with everyone and we survived Mass with all of us in tow without any major issues! Well, there may have been some talking and crying baby dolls that came along and decided to cry out at inopportune times, but, we were all there! My grandfather and Aunt Rose were up from New Jersey and staying with us for a few days. My Grandmother, my Mom’s mom got picked up by my Dad at the nursing home that morning. Auntie Ann, my mom’s young recently widowed sister, who had 6 children under the age of 8, would arrive that morning and stay for the day and join us for dinner. 19 kids under the age of 16 roaming around everywhere-some outside running around as the older ones were most likely watching over the little ones and helping my parents. A large roast turkey was in the oven cooking away, tinsel from the tree was literally everywhere, toys and game pieces scattered around, dolls and Barbie’s were apart of same great adventure game, and the joy of the season was in the air.
In addition to just family, my parents would invite our dear friends and neighbors the Mirsky’s over in the morning for a little holiday toast and some piano playing and singing. My parents’ generation loved to sing with my mom or a neighbor playing the piano. The noise level must have been next level, but no one even noticed as we were all enjoying the day. And through it all, those little red lights were steady and bright.
My Mom remembers those years well, and smiled and laughed as she listed off everyone who was with us in 1973. The twinkle in her blue eyes and the warmth in her heart has not changed a bit since those days. She remembers them fondly and says, “It was a lot of fun!” To some, it may seem like complete chaos, but there was nothing chaotic about the day.
Today when I walk up the walkway to my parents’ front door, long gone are the large colored Christmas lights on the outdoor trees, replaced by a couple of simple small trees with little white lights by the front door. Those plastic candle lights with red bulbs have been replaced by battery operated white lights. I open the front door, and I enter to a clean front hall devoid of toys, sports equipment and backpacks. You no longer hear five different conversations going on in the background. It’s quiet, except for the TV in the family room easily on level 65. I spy my Mom, watching TV in the recliner where my dad always sat. By herself, clicker in hand with either news or sports on. But as she sees me enter the room, her eyes light up and we quickly get caught up on all the happenings in the family.
I think back to those little red lights in the windows and I can’t help but wonder if their Christmas spirit lives on in the house. For after all these years, with many gone who once were with us, the love, strength and positive energy still lives on within my mom’s heart. That is called Faith. And as I’ve heard my mother say so many times…life changes, but we must still go on. At almost 95 years old, the wisdom and the strength that oozes out of my mother is nothing short of divine.
May you all feel those beacons of red light in your own homes and have a blessed and safe holiday season. Thank you for allowing me to take you back to glimpse my childhood home in 1973….a great year! Onward and upward in 2026!!
In peace and health,
Debbie