This Christmas, I received a very special gift.  It wasn’t a gift certificate, a fruitcake, or a Snuggie.  I received the gift of savor.  Savor meaning that I learned to savor the moment.  A week off of work, two weeks off of school, and time with my family and friends left me very grateful.  I rarely have time to sit and enjoy a movie or a good book.  A day filled with family members playing silly board games and good food is a rare occasion.  However, I finally had the opportunity to do ALL of these things.  No homework and no long work days.  Time to sleep in and relax in my pajamas.  A morning filled with newspapers and fresh brewed coffee.  The sound of my children playing with their new Christmas toys.  All of these things are so precious to me.

My senses are filled with gratitude of the moment.  I had another Christmas with my parents; all four of my siblings, their spouses, and their children.  All happy and healthy.  My parents are alive and able to enjoy another holiday with the grandchildren.  Sitting around my parents’ table left me feeling nostalgic.  I felt like a little kid again.  The smell of my mother’s lasagna.  The taste of her cookies and my brother-in-law’s rice pudding took me back to years passed.  Although I miss my grandmother and other family members that are no longer with us, I am thankful for the moment.  I am thankful for the day with my family.

We never know who will be with us next Christmas.  After all, life holds no guarantees.  We could even have another addition to the family by this time next year.  My only hope is that our family will continue to grow and not diminish.  Our family traditions will go on and the stories will linger.  The Gutierrez family history will go on long after I’m gone.  I pray that somehow I made a difference to my family.  One day, my grandchildren will sit around telling funny stories about me.  As I grow older, I am overwhelmed with great feelings.  As I savored the moment, I received the greatest gift of my life…the ability to recognize precious moments.

“What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset…” ~Blackfoot

Author: Rhonda Gutierrez