“So here it is, Merry Christmas…” The season of repeats. They do it on the telly, and we do it for ourselves. We all have our own Christmas traditions, whether you charge into it from early November taking every opportunity you can manufacture to make the glitz and glamour of it last as long as possible, or you try everything to avoid the hype until the last minute, or even prefer to hibernate and wait for it all to go away. Whatever you do, that’s what tradition is – repeat. If you go to church you may hear the same story and sing the same carols. No apologies. Decorations, trees, recipes, music, films…the ones they show on the telly or the favourites we choose to stream ourselves. (We like Alistair Sim’s version of “Scrooge”. It’s old now, 1951, but it’s still hard to beat, and Lucia laughed louder than anyone else every year.)
Looking for inspiration for the 12 days of Christmas blogs this year, we re-read the last set Lucia wrote, from Christmas 2018. We loved them. So here they all are again, one day at a time. Repeats, with no apologies. And yes, we’re proud of her every word….
Once upon a Christmas…
So. We’ve all had our dinner, we are suitably stuffed with Celebrations, and the torn wrapping paper leaves a trail of destruction under the tree.
The whole family is together. Someone is probably asleep on the sofa and there is most likely a Christmas special on the T.V.
‘What did you get?’ Is probably one of the most common questions of the day.
Clothes, books, makeup, tickets to a show or maybe all of the above!
Do you prefer to give presents or get them? I think my favourite thing is giving my family presents, and watching their face as they open them.
I love knowing that I have given them something they wanted or will enjoy or wouldn’t have treated themselves to.
There is always something a little extra special about Christmas for me. I love it so much. I’m such a child when it comes to Christmas. At 19 years old I still go and wake up everyone in my family and I can’t wait to go downstairs to open some presents. I get so excited.
It is my favourite time of year. Something magical seems to happen.
There are three reasons why I can make the most of every Christmas. Three donors and three donor families. All who have allowed me a second, third and fourth chance to live.
Christmas is all about the gifts for so many people, but really the greatest gift is life.
So many of us take it for granted. Just today, take a moment to thank your lucky stars that you are here and have the people who love you all around.
And maybe, before everyone succumbs to the food coma, just have a conversation with your family. Mention this blog maybe, or something else that starts the conversation about organ donation.
It is the gift that cannot be found under the tree. It can’t be bought or wrapped. It is the only gift that really matters. Life.
Happy Christmas
Lucia X