‘Tis the season to be Jolly!
School Holidays
Aaahh December, my favorite time of the year, Boney M Christmas carols everywhere you go in town, discounts, SALE SALE SALE, food and the list goes on. It’s also that time of the year where school’s out, parks are full of kids from the wee hours of the morning till late afternoons, making use of their holidays. Growing up in Fiji, the school holidays meant two things for me, a full house with all the cousins for the yearly catch-up for Christmas and New Years and a whole lot of chores for the kids at home, which was nothing short of boring because we had always found a way to make our “chores” a fun thing to do. There was always that little worry of getting the growling or a hiding if the chores set out before the adults went out to work wasn’t done by the time they got home in the evening. This would be a normal routine for us through out the whole holidays until it was time for the cousins to get “deported” back to their own homes to get ready for the school year ahead.
Some good memories as I think back typing out this post.
Christmas
Jesus, the reason for the season. It was always a lovely day where we would start off the day with our little devotion as a family, singing a few hymns then praying and reflecting back on the year that’s unfolded and dad would usually then talk to us and tell us what Christmas really meant, it was the same story every year, but it always seemed to get more interesting for my cousins and I growing up as we got to really understand the true meaning behind dad’s teachings. After all this was done, breakfast was usually very light (to keep space in the little tummy for the big feast ahead)
I for one never really took breakfast lightly and was always on the receiving end of my nana’s favorite saying “Eye’s too big for your stomach” as I would usually have left overs during breakfast and lunch too.
The typical Fiji Christmas menu, lovo, ham, roast chicken, Ox tongue, rolled corned beef, red pork a lot of grog and ice cream and trifle for this kiddies, oh and presents too. Then came the “after lunch” happenings, for my family, it was always the kids getting sent into the kitchen to wash up and dry the dishes before we could go out and blow up the pool and all have a dip to cool off and beat the December heat. Like I mentioned earlier, a lot of good memories just thinking back on all of this. Now with a family of my own, the table have turned, you have more food to ENJOY, with you needing to be at both family meals and then there’s the added advantage of you watching over the nieces and nephews follow out the same procedure you would do after Christmas lunch, gathering up the plates and breaking a sweat in the kitchen, all because you have served your time and passed on the “Kitchen Rights” to the next generation. Right, time for some grog while they’re going to be busy in the kitchen!
Accidents
Accidents? Where’d this pop up? Why is this here? Relax, it’s just a little “Warning”
Now growing up we always had a responsible cousin who was always the eldest obviously to look out for us and be sure that everything was set out and done in order.
I was sitting on a bench a couple of metre aways from our front gate with my daughter yesterday and I was observing these kids playing across the road. Now they were one of the main reasons I had to write this post because they brought back a lot of good memories of those holidays with the cousins but always for the purpose of keeping an eye on your kids this festive season. The road in front of your house leads to the main highway which meant we have very heavy traffic flow till about 8 in the evening.
There was a young boy about 5 years old, after playing was wanting to cross the road, no adult supervision, just listening to his elder sister who was probably 7, across the road dictating and telling him when to cross and when not to as she scanned for cars on the road. I walked up to her and told her to wait and told the boy to stay put on the other side of the road, crossing over, I held his hand and we walked back to where his sister stood. Long story short, I explained to their mother about being more alert and aware with her two young kids during the festive season.
So yes, if you’re reading this, please do keep an eye out on your kids this Christmas holidays, as much as they want to enjoy their holidays, a little extra supervision won’t hurt them. I only wish I could turn back time to those holidays of playing pani and tyre and getting a growling for coming home too late from playing at the park, oh the good old days.
I can only look forward to when my daughter reaches that stage and to her stories of how she’s spent her day playing and being a nuisance to her older cousins, till then, I’m going to enjoy every bit of this Christmas season with my little family and with nieces and nephews who will be keeping our kitchen spotless for the next few weeks.
From my family to yours, Merry Christmas & A Blessed 2018, thank you for making my 2017 a memorable one.
Much love.
