Some fragmented thoughts on Christmastide, the expansive hospitality of the festive season, intergenerational relationship, the food of Texas, and a song of morning
Thank you. The thought of month long recognizing specifics of this Christmas time present and past. So appreciate The NY Times article. Made me rethink conversations I have with 90 year old mother. Enjoyed listening to the music too. Your writing helps me step outside my daily life. Happy new year.
To my favorite Eeyore writer who sees the beauty in both the sadness and the hope we have for our tomorrows. I love how you write about deep hurts and good recipes and quality eating experiences. Thank you for ALL of it. We all can see ourselves in our complex lives. Happy Hopeful Hurting New Year as we look to see what 2024 will bring us.
Thank you. Your messages of dragons and Dolly, hope of a brand new day and a whole season to celebrate, plus the delight of delicious food resonates with me and year of grief.
Waking up to the steady rain in Singapore during this Christmastide family visit, this was the article I needed to read to recalibrate and prepare myself for 2024 as I soak in the air, earth, smell and spirit of the country of my birth. I have a 90 year old dad with Alzheimer’s, a 53 year old wheelchair bound brother whose post stroke brain is fully intact but who needs help with all other daily functions and a step mother who has dementia. It is very easy to see the days as filled with duty bound activities but this trip I have been able to enjoy them as who they are now rather than wishing they are who they were. Laughing, talking, being silent and just being with them has been enough. The pre Christmas ambulance call and unexpected hospital stay for my dad did not diminish Christmas as joy and pain are all part of it. Thank you Jeff for the beautiful insights as ever and as another Chinese person living far from home (London), the culinary descriptions of some of my favourite food is always appreciated! Blessings and happy New Year!
That is a lot that you are carrying! I send my solidarity and prayers for tender strength your way. What a gift you are giving to your father, brother, and stepmother. I do think that duty is an underrated (in modern Western society) form of love—and I also love that you are finding "enough-ness" in the midst of this all.
Thank you for your beautiful wish. I'm not a resolution maker but was kind of weirded out about two weeks ago as I was lighting the third candle of my first personal Advent wreath. I experienced a light, a glow, a peace, a desire to be enveloped in all the good feelings. So I'm hoping that 2024 will be a year of light, metaphorically and physically. It will be interesting to see how this goes. It definitely merits purchase of a new notebook to note my observations and reflections. Thank you for the light your words bring to me. May Tristan, Fozzie, and you have a new year filled with an abundance of light and love.
I loved your comment about your Eeyore-ish spirit. For a good, long while now my two favorite Disney characters have been Grumpy and Eeyore. I often claim Eeyore as my spirit animal.
Thanks for sharing your piece from 2021 about Texas. Over the past few years my partner and I have had many family members move to Florida, and we've been less than thrilled about it (especially because we live in Oregon and plane tickets are expensive). It's been too easy to characterize all of Florida negatively, and bemoan that so much family now lives there, but I'm feeling some conviction after reading your piece, and want to do a better job of working to find the beauty there too.
I lived in Miami during junior high and high school, so I spent a lot of time visiting various parts of Florida. There's tremendous natural beauty there as well as so much good food.
Sitting here just pondering this after listening to both versions of the song. (I think I prefer the Dolly version.) I'm part of an online community of Mama Dragons...mothers with children in the LGBTQ community...so the idea of dragons singing songs of praise rather tickles my fancy. 2023 was a tough year. My daughter graduated with her diesel mechanic certificate in May and is still job hunting. Turns out there aren't a lot of diesel tech jobs for trans female mechanics in South Dakota. She finally found one, only to lose it because she can't lift the required amount. Right before Christmas.
There have been hard moments in my life, but it turns out watching a child struggle is infinitely harder. So I am waiting and hoping for some dragony songs of praise in 2024. (And really, every day that she survives, every day that she gets up and keeps trying again, is its own song. For that, I will sing.)
Thank you. The thought of month long recognizing specifics of this Christmas time present and past. So appreciate The NY Times article. Made me rethink conversations I have with 90 year old mother. Enjoyed listening to the music too. Your writing helps me step outside my daily life. Happy new year.
Dragons and tambourines! Thank you
To my favorite Eeyore writer who sees the beauty in both the sadness and the hope we have for our tomorrows. I love how you write about deep hurts and good recipes and quality eating experiences. Thank you for ALL of it. We all can see ourselves in our complex lives. Happy Hopeful Hurting New Year as we look to see what 2024 will bring us.
I so look forward to your notes. May this coming year be filled with blessings.
Thank you. Your messages of dragons and Dolly, hope of a brand new day and a whole season to celebrate, plus the delight of delicious food resonates with me and year of grief.
Waking up to the steady rain in Singapore during this Christmastide family visit, this was the article I needed to read to recalibrate and prepare myself for 2024 as I soak in the air, earth, smell and spirit of the country of my birth. I have a 90 year old dad with Alzheimer’s, a 53 year old wheelchair bound brother whose post stroke brain is fully intact but who needs help with all other daily functions and a step mother who has dementia. It is very easy to see the days as filled with duty bound activities but this trip I have been able to enjoy them as who they are now rather than wishing they are who they were. Laughing, talking, being silent and just being with them has been enough. The pre Christmas ambulance call and unexpected hospital stay for my dad did not diminish Christmas as joy and pain are all part of it. Thank you Jeff for the beautiful insights as ever and as another Chinese person living far from home (London), the culinary descriptions of some of my favourite food is always appreciated! Blessings and happy New Year!
That is a lot that you are carrying! I send my solidarity and prayers for tender strength your way. What a gift you are giving to your father, brother, and stepmother. I do think that duty is an underrated (in modern Western society) form of love—and I also love that you are finding "enough-ness" in the midst of this all.
Thank you so much Jeff!
Thank you for your beautiful wish. I'm not a resolution maker but was kind of weirded out about two weeks ago as I was lighting the third candle of my first personal Advent wreath. I experienced a light, a glow, a peace, a desire to be enveloped in all the good feelings. So I'm hoping that 2024 will be a year of light, metaphorically and physically. It will be interesting to see how this goes. It definitely merits purchase of a new notebook to note my observations and reflections. Thank you for the light your words bring to me. May Tristan, Fozzie, and you have a new year filled with an abundance of light and love.
I love the nuance you find in the celebration of Christmastide! And thank you for the beauty and hope you bring to this world!!
I loved your comment about your Eeyore-ish spirit. For a good, long while now my two favorite Disney characters have been Grumpy and Eeyore. I often claim Eeyore as my spirit animal.
Thanks for sharing your piece from 2021 about Texas. Over the past few years my partner and I have had many family members move to Florida, and we've been less than thrilled about it (especially because we live in Oregon and plane tickets are expensive). It's been too easy to characterize all of Florida negatively, and bemoan that so much family now lives there, but I'm feeling some conviction after reading your piece, and want to do a better job of working to find the beauty there too.
I lived in Miami during junior high and high school, so I spent a lot of time visiting various parts of Florida. There's tremendous natural beauty there as well as so much good food.
Sitting here just pondering this after listening to both versions of the song. (I think I prefer the Dolly version.) I'm part of an online community of Mama Dragons...mothers with children in the LGBTQ community...so the idea of dragons singing songs of praise rather tickles my fancy. 2023 was a tough year. My daughter graduated with her diesel mechanic certificate in May and is still job hunting. Turns out there aren't a lot of diesel tech jobs for trans female mechanics in South Dakota. She finally found one, only to lose it because she can't lift the required amount. Right before Christmas.
There have been hard moments in my life, but it turns out watching a child struggle is infinitely harder. So I am waiting and hoping for some dragony songs of praise in 2024. (And really, every day that she survives, every day that she gets up and keeps trying again, is its own song. For that, I will sing.)
I'm so sorry! This sounds so hard—for your daughter and for you. Cheering you both on.