Worth Your While — 2

Nick, Yuletide and the Year That Was

Christmas is around the corner. I remember what I used to do for Christmas as a child.

Make a card.

Write a wish.

Put it underneath my pillow on Christmas eve.

Hope for it to come true.

Only it never did.

My Barbie, my Beyblade, my encyclopedias — all came into my life sooner or later. Just not on Christmas. Just not delivered by Santa. Or Rudolph. Or Santa chauffeured by Rudolph. Or a Santa impersonator.

And yet I made merry.

Making lemonades on a wintry day.

As a young kid, disappointment and heartaches were only as transient as fast fashion. Only the young kid knew nothing about fast fashion. Talk about where ignorance is bliss.

This year has taken us back in time to when we were kids. Most of us are finding ourselves back at the very doors we left at the onset of adulthood to embrace hustle culture. It is like life was moving at a staggering pace with dreams and plans and then someone hit pause or rewind or worse.

The only ones unaffected are those who know not otherwise. Meanwhile, all others are on a this-is-not-how-it-ought-to-be rendition of Sheldon Cooper’s dystopia. Hence, amidst all the conundrum, everyone reached out for some good old soul-stirring, rajma-chawal. A friend dished out recipes on the internet every day. Another made paintings. Yet, another one jokes. That one’s my favourite of the lot. Comfort, they say, is always sought in familiar things. Nostalgia, they say, is the most familiar of them all.

2020 gave us all, that what my best friend calls, the best kind of gifts — the one that you didn’t ask for. I guess she’s the kind that always sees the glass half full. I never really could. I always reach out for a refill even after as much as even a sip.

But over time I have learnt. At times it’s Johnny Bravo (read: folly) to be wise. You gotta always make the lemons count.

And what better time than now. As the year draws to a close, write down all the things that you are grateful for. Steadfast friendships, supportive parents, encouraging colleagues, rejoicing food, cheerful childhood heroes, and peaceful hobbies that make life worth the while.