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Early the next morning, we sailed off and never saw them again. Much to our surprise, though, while listening to the announcements part of the daily VHF cruiser’s net, we heard the woman from Moody Blues talking about the gift. She said she just wanted to thank, from the bottom of her heart, whoever it was that left the plate of baked goods on their boat yesterday (we hadn’t left a card). She went on to explain that her mother had just passed away and this was the first Christmas without her. The home-baked goods had touched her in a special way and made her Christmas Day a whole lot better.
We looked at each other and discovered we both had tears in our eyes. The spirit of Christmas was never as strong before with any expensive gift we had given or received. It was then that we saw the beauty that can be found in such a small and simple gift as that plate of goodies. We considered calling her and telling her that it was Safari who had left the present, but decided somehow that wasn’t important. So to this day, she still doesn’t know.
On the shortwave radio just the other night, we were amazed to hear that according to recent figures, over the holiday season the average American incurs debt that takes six months to pay off. Ugh! We’ve discovered through cruising that the best gifts we can give and receive usually involve personal thought and time. We no longer feel pressured to purchase the latest and greatest items. In fact, we don’t even know what they are.
We’ve committed our time and money to this cruising venture and feel that expensive gifts to each other for Christmas and birthdays have little meaning in comparison to the lifestyle we’ve chosen, and very little value compared to the experiences we’re having in our cruising. We keep our gifts simple now, make what we can and hope they’re received in the spirit they are given.
A couple of weeks ago, a friend on Cat Tales gave us a big bag of Calamondin oranges (small sour oranges the size of golf balls). Visions of homemade marmalade immediately danced in our heads, so we set to work and soon had a whole bunch of small presents to give to our friends (but, please, don’t tell them what they’re getting).
Some boats chose the |
We’re currently down in the Florida Keys for the holidays. With us are many of the cruisers we've met along the way in the past year. We feel as if we have an extended family to celebrate with. A number of boats have used great creativity to "deck the hulls" with wreaths and bows, and some have even decorated their dinghy. There have been Christmas boat parades at night to watch, and Santa has shown up once on a US Coast Guard boat (donning a life jacket, of course). On Christmas Eve, we plan to join our friends in a dinghy brigade and go barefoot caroling from boat to boat.
No, Christmas is not the same as it once was when we had a big house and worked 9-5. There’s no 10-foot tree decorated with tinsel and expensive presents piled high underneath it. The fireplace, the chestnuts, and sleigh rides are gone. But so are the frustrating hours spent in the mall (and the parking lot, for that matter). We’re so completely removed from the commercialized side of the Christmas hype, it’s wonderful not to be influenced and feel you have to conform.
There are things we miss from our earlier Christmas years but nothing we can’t do again in the future if we so choose. On the whole, we know we have it pretty good right now, and so far we’re happy with the choices that we’ve made. As well put by Rocketman, a popular local singer in the Keys, "It’s not 40 below, we’re not shoveling snow, and we like it!"
Holiday Poem
Safari sailed the East Coast, through calm and through blow 50 miles off New England, big whales did we see But now we’re down south with the coconut tree. We’re here in the Keys where the cold winds don’t go We’ve given our hats, our gloves and our scarves And if just by chance you can join us down here
Santamentally yours, Larry and Sue
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