My How the World has changed!

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Today’s Blog Post


My How the World has changed!

I know that I have likely taken you down to the Old Farm House and to my Christmas’ past – way too many times. You are likely sick of it. Too many Memories have flooded my life as I have gone there.

BUT there is one memory that I cannot get from the Old Farm House in southern Saskatchewan when I was a boy. That memory is something called Boxing Day – the day after Christmas. It didn’t exist for me. I never learned what this was about until after things like “Malls” were invented. And the “Malls” that we have day came long after the Shopping Center.

Shopping Centers were there when I began my work as a computer and business machine technician. My work was to help stores sell more and sell it faster with better business machines.

But even that memory of the old Shopping Centers of the 1960s is so far back and so quaint that it is difficult to conjure up the old things we did way then.

Today is Boxing Day in Canada. Today is a Public Holiday where everyone will run to stores that will be so crowed it will be impossible to breath. Other than the fun of pushing and shoving someone else around – something like Rugby – it is not appealing for me at all.

The photo above is taken at the Eaton’s Centre in Toronto a few years back on a Boxing Day Sale. Yikes! Is that place even built to hold and support that many people at one time?

I do remember my Aunt Marg telling me on the day after Christmas, on the Farm, that Boxing Day was the day that we all pack up our boxes and Christmas wrapping paper. Too funny. It was a good way to get kids to help.

The tradition however does go way back and is a real day of celebration. Some of the evidence shows that it was the day that the very wealthy would give a box filled with gifts and perhaps even money to their servants. It seems to be the day that they received their “tip” for all the hard work that they did the day before as their Master and his family over ate and celebrated to excess… while being waited on hand and foot.

My wife is that servant for our family.

Yesterday she rose at 6 AM with me. Together we prepared a 31 pound turkey and began working on the rest of what needed to be done to host 12 people for our Christmas Dinner at 6 PM. The Turkey roasted for 10 hours slowly… Mmm MMm MM! was it ever good. She cleaned up until 12:30 AM (with my help).

Now our own tradition has kicked in… we slept in today. I stayed there for a long time – 7 AM and my wife will get closer to 10 AM (if not maybe 11 AM).

As I look back there are more memories again. Christmas is about our traditions as a family. Each year we have done basically the same and have added small things along the way.

Boxing Day today is one of sifting through the present memories made just yesterday… and being thankful for what we have experienced over all these years together.

Personally, I will not go to a store today… I don’t think. I don’t need any more of anything… I don’t think.

I wish you a great time as you push and shove in a store today. And if you decided to stay home and enjoy the quiet – Bless you richly.

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/