Christmas

It's been a good one, with lots of family time. Two of the kids have only been able to partially enjoy it, however -- my oldest son and youngest daughter have been very sick with stomach ailments. I've been taking care of my youngest all day and she's also spending the night here, and that makes this one of my favorite Christmases of all. She's bundled up on my couch with blankets, and we're watching movies on TV.

We did have a very scary moment yesterday, on Christmas Eve, when my youngest son fainted, and then, trying to get up, fell back again, hitting his head hard against the wall.

This scared all of us a lot. Was it a seizure of some sort or just a case of a teenager fainting?

For his part, true to form, he was just embarrassed to have caused us trouble and drawn unwanted attention to himself. He's such a brilliant young man, a reader, a thinker, a lover of history.

His intellect is truly amazing, but does not always translate into high grades at school. This is one of the reasons I am skeptical about schools, not to mention teachers. If any teacher of any subject cannot hold his interest long enough for him to earn a high grade, as a long-time teacher myself, I believe it is the teacher's fault.

I hope and believe it was just a fainting episode. Teens faint often. Sometimes it's low blood sugar or dehydration.

But whenever your child has a sudden health problem you become worried. So this has been a Christmas of worry for me as well.

***

Life is complicated. One perspective on Christmas allows people like me, with no religious orientation, to enjoy it. The way this works is to consider it a time to better connect with family and friends.

I've done a good job connecting with family this Christmas, but less so with friends. It can be hard, in our society, to maintain very many intimate friendships. I've tried, for years, but when it comes down to it, for most of the years since my marriage broke up I have tried to rely on one special friend, as opposed to a community of friends.

Many men make this mistake; fewer women, in my observation.

This is the second Christmas in a row, therefore, that there is no one special friend for me to share the holiday spirit with.

I suppose, when it comes around to New Year's resolutions, I should address this issue. Soon it will be time to envision what 2012 might be, and what each of us should try to do to make the most of the next year, should we be granted enough more time to experience it here on earth.

First and foremost, I always hope and wish for my children's and grandchildren's health and safety and success.

After that, I have to get to the hard part -- me. And that, of course, is the problem.

-30-