My Christmas Elephant And The Persistance Of Memory Clock

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​MY CHRISTMAS ELEPHANT AND THE PERSISTANCE OF MEMORY CLOCK

      I stepped back from the tradition of giving and receiving Christmas gifts - except in the case of my  young grandchildren - years ago. The reason wasn't so much that I'm opposed to the practice of holiday gift-giving - I'm not at all - as that I can never think of what to get another adult. I used to hate wracking my brain trying to think of things to get my relatives, only to end up getting them really the worst Christmas gifts. The thing is, I'm an awful gift-giver. So I save us all the grief and just don't give at all. Fortunately my children are of the same frame of mind as myself, so we all just don't worry about exchanging gifts on Christmas day, which relieves the stress of the season without, believe it or not, diminishing the enjoyment, there being plenty else to do on Christmas to make the day merry and fun. 
      In normal times on Christmas our house would be filled with our visiting children and grandchildren. We used to start the day by removing the Christmas Eve luminaries (See previous post), then a  big brunch would follow, after which we spent the afternoon watching our traditional family Christmas movie, "Tremors."

     Or occasionally, for variety, "Star Wars."

     We always went out for Christmas dinner to a Japanese steak house,

       But of course this year Christmas was for you, me, and everyone we know upended by the epidemic.
      Still I'm not sure why this year I suddenly had the urge to buy Christmas gifts for my COVID bubble mates, my husband and one of my daughters, though I have a feeling any psychoanalyst out there could probably put their finger on it in a trice.
       In any case, I logged onto Amazon and went COVID-safe Christmas shopping. On Christmas Eve I wrapped the presents and set them under the tree.
       On Christmas morning we started off by collecting the Christmas Eve luminaries.    

     It was such a beautiful snowy Christmas morning, with the neighbors out shoveling their driveways and walks.

       Afterwards I fixed the big Christmas brunch for the three of us.

      "Now it's time to open Christmas presents," I said after brunch.
    "Aw, Mom, why didn't you tell us we were doing Christmas presents this year?" asked my daughter. 
        "I mean, I didn't get you guys anything special," I said. 
        This was true. I didn't get them anything special. Just  a puzzle, a calendar, and  pajamas.   

      I still stink at buying Christmas presents for other people.
      However, for myself I managed to pick out the perfect items. One didn't arrive from Amazon in time for Christmas, but the other one was this elephant.

      "The heck?" wondered my daughter and husband, for they saw only a cast iron elephant tchochke with a safety hazard of a trunk. They did not perceive its awesome utility, which gave me a feeling something akin to that of the protagonist of the book "The Little Prince," by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry,

...who, as a child drew this picture,

...only to have it mistaken by the grown-ups for a hat, when it was obviously a boa constrictor that had swallowed an elephant. 

      I Likewise had thought that the function of my elephant was just as obvious. 

      We grown-ups always need things explained.
     After the opening of the presents we settled down to watch our Christmas movie. As the whole family wasn't here we decided not to watch our traditional favorite, but opted instead to watch "Game Night," a great movie which also turned out to be a satisfying choice.

     For dinner, as we couldn't go out to the Japanese steak house, Tom cooked us a turkey and his yummy apple pie.

      And so went our Christmas. 
      But last night the other Christmas present I'd bought for myself finally arrived. 

     Now it hangs looking good on my wall, keeping time, 

...and serving as a reminder that, though memory may persist, all time melts away.
      As this time eventually will, too.