Faith Works 1-13-23

Faith Works 1-13-23
Jeff Gill

Considerations post- and pre-Christmases to come
___


When I was in elementary school, and Walt Disney World was newly opened in Florida, it was a point of amazement and no little envy that one of our classmates announced her family was going to spend Christmas, as in Christmas Eve and Christmas Day itself plus another day or two, at the Magic Kingdom.

It was a mix of fascination with Uncle Walt's creation in those swamps and orange groves, and a touch of horror at the idea of not spending Christmas, well, at home. Home, be it ever so humble, et cetera. Your own house, with your own tree, and your family traditions no matter how peculiar (don't ask, we all have 'em). To spend Christmas walking past Cinderella's Castle and Mister Toad's Wild Ride just seemed borderline unimaginable.

Later on I would start to find out what it is like to Christmas, if I can verb that noun, in a strange place. It's not all bad, you bring your traditions with you to the degree that you can, and you learn about those of others. It can make Christmas feel more special, and helps you think about "the reason for the season," the birth of that child whose life would transform the old familiar broken world.

This past holiday season made me think very sternly about the holidays I have ahead. Practically speaking, while I'm blessed with relatively excellent health and full mobility, it would be foolish not to realize I can't assume at 86 or so I can, well, walk ten miles a day as a tourist, or feel confident about navigating whatever travel logistics are necessary when I'm another couple of decades older.

Which boils down to this: I've got about twenty years left where I could do something away from home. Two-zero, two decades' worth. A very envision-able number. Realistically, there will be family needs which trim that number down, let alone costs and budgets restricting just how wild I can get. But if I want to do a different sort of Christmas, I'd better get cracking.

Epcot can take care of itself, I don't want to spend a Christmas there, but I'm reliably told it can be great fun. But my wife and I have pitched Paris and London back and forth for years, just to go in the first place, let alone during a holiday season. We band-parented our way to Manhattan during Thanksgiving week a few years ago, and that box is checked. But would we want to see the Eiffel Tower decorated for Joyeux Noel, or see Westminster Abbey adorned for Advent?

We've been blessed to visit Santa Fe a number of times, but always in the summer. I've long wondered what it would be like to see the Sangre de Cristos in the winter, and Archbishop Lamy's cathedral at Christmastime. An internet acquaintance with no more Spanish than I have went to a small village in Mexico, and intrigued me deeply with what that experience would be like in some future December. My wife got to visit Finland for work across a first weekend of Advent, and loved it, and would love to take me there to experience more of it.

And I really can't explain it, but I'd love to visit Vienna around Christmas. I can't explain it, haven't heard a great deal about it, but what I have heard has me wanting to go there. Oh, and Mackinac Island, which can be seen as December ends, but it takes some planning.

If I'm even going to do a couple of those, I need to start planning now. What have you long dreamed of experiencing during the holidays?


Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and preacher in central Ohio; he's imagined all sorts of trips he's not likely to take. Tell him what your grand tour looks like at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack on Twitter.