December 28, 2010
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So it has indeed been a fun and eventful week. Last night we attended our second hockey game in eight days. There’s divided loyalties for this, as I pull for our hometown Colorado Avalanche, but Maria, native of Michigan, cheers on the Detroit Red Wings. (Detroit won 4-3 in OT; it was an intense game).
In between, we have visited the same arena to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra and also attended a performance of White Christmas at a community theater. Both ends of the spectrum, a major metropolitan arena with a packed house of 14,000 for a national touring act, and a theatre seating 260 for a local production. Bottom line, we’ve had FUN.
The kids are gone to their dad’s house, so Maria & I have been enjoying uncommon alone time. Getting to simply hang out, do– or perhaps more importantly, not do– whatever we want, sleep in, drink peppermint schnapps in our coffee, whatever we damn well please.
That’s the upside.
We had a nice Christmas, and everyone including myself is generally happy with gifts received. The fact that we have our family to celebrate with is still the greatest gift of all. Yet, I can’t help but be a bit bummed by the fact that I did not receive a single phone call, or text message, or personal remark on Facebook. I’m not sure what to think about that. Of course, the only call I attempted to make on Christmas Day was to my mom, who did not answer. She didn’t answer the next day, either. Finally, on the evening of the 26th, she called and I discovered she had been at my brother’s house. I was glad to hear that as otherwise she’d have been left home alone on Christmas. My mom is 77 years old and lives with one of my three older brothers. He, however, is in Mexico right now. The oldest of our clan lives 20 minutes away but apparently can’t bother to see his mother. Of the remaining brother and I, he is a bit over two hours away and I, well, am two time zones, at least four states and some 1,450 miles away. Thankfully, other brother took her from her home to his and back for the hoilday.
Every fall I teach a unit on the Middle East to my 7th grade students and one major element we examine is stereotypes about Muslim people living in that region of the world. I need not identify all the stereotypes Americans/Westerners hold about Arabs/Muslims/Middle Easterners (which are not interchangeable terms) but one “they” hold about “us” is we do not value our family members and treat them as we should when they grow old, preferring to pay someone else to care for them rather than keeping them at home with us and giving them the respect they deserve. I think “they” have a point in this regard.
More tomorrow; I am trying to build up to daily blogging again– I do not dare call it a New Year’s resolution as that will doom it to failure (or did I just do that?)
Comments (4)
Glad Christmas was good. Don’t have that family issue here (the mom issue) cuz everyone except my lil brother, lives on the same street… on the same block. Me & My sis & bil live right next door to each other & my mom lives with me. (My dad lives on the other end of our block. About… 6 houses down & across the street.
) I don’t know what I’d do if my family wasn’t HERE. It’s bad enough my lil bro lives in the city, cuz I rarely see him.
Anyway…
Oh. Also. The thing about our elders. The Asian community feels much the same way. (Have Korean cousins) You know, a lot of Asians live in multi generational households and they really don’t get why we “warehouse” our elderly.
Oh yeah… Facebook. This is why I don’t have Facebook. So many people wanting to be “friends” who aren’t and/or never where. Fuck that. If I haven’t talked to someone in 20 yrs… there’s a reason.
Glad you had a nice Christmas. Ours was good, too. Just the usual wonderful day spent with family. We got a Roku from my parents and will be quitting our satellite. That will save us $720 a year … a great gift!
I went to visit my former neighbor in the convalescent home on Christmas. It was so quiet there because they had their big celebration the day before Christmas. They celebrate early because if they do it on Christmas, nobody will come. A sad commentary on how much we value our elderly.
Ready to go back to the salt mines? We head back on Monday, and I’m exhausted just thinking about it.
@poisonedbyfairytales - We have a Roku and LOVE IT! Haven’t quite got to the point of cancelling DirecTV but we did downgrade to the most basic package. And yes, I too go back to work Monday, although the students don’t come back until Wednesday… hard to believe it’s been two weeks already!