There I was, driving home. (and yes this post is nearly 3 weeks late, but there’s a reason, I promise).
For the first time I’d be driving myself home for the holidays. The snowflakes were nearly light flurries falling from the evening sky, and the Christmas carols were on full blast throughout the whole ride.
I had picked up my brother from the train station, and celebrated the start of the best 2-week holiday break, ever.
From surprise visits from friends, to stuffing my face with home-cooked meals, to jamming with friends, to catching up after wee hours. The holidays have been a reviving and renewing experience. With exams ending so late in December, many students seemed overwhelmed and burnt out because of them, but not I.
Mt last exam was on December 17, and I was already home by December 19. The highlight of the first week was seeing my entire family under one roof – which hadn’t happened for nearly 5 years now. Reflecting on the treasured moments I had had with my cousins, aunts, uncles, and immediate family, there’s no way I would have had the Christmas weekend any other way. My cousins and I bonded and laughed as if we were children again – talk about feeling young again eh? Not to mention, an encounter with a very close friend of mine who had essentially ‘disappeared’ yet ‘reappeared’ into my life countless times, leading to realizations and stronger understandings of why things happened the way they did; it was 3+ hours that had been long overdue.
While the second and last week of the holidays showed me the value of making up for lost time. There had been an instance where a group of friends, all coming from different places (Michigan, California, Alberta, and Manitoba), as well as another group from my final college years had met up for a Starbucks run and a night out for wings. As we conversed, it was apparent to me that we were once on the same playing field, but no longer were. The conversations we had included reminiscing memories from when ‘we were’… We remembered what ‘was’ and encouraged one another with our what ‘will be’s.
This post took a while to upload because I believe I truly needed the time to reflect and internalize the experiences I had had during the holidays. Everyday life always seems to be rushed and special moments like your godson’s first Christmas, New Years, and birthday deserve to be enjoyed. Precious time with family and friends you don’t get to see everyday as you once had are minutes, hours, and days clocked into your life’s journey.
As I close, may you remember to reflect on how far you’ve come, and how much more you’ve got waiting ahead of you. Take the time to enjoy the time, the now, and not what had been. For what had been, is only another snapshot added to your life’s photo album. Take the opportunities that come in front of you and take a chance to capture new snapshots to cherish from now until another day.
L I F E I S A B E A U T 