CRAIG GLAZER CONSIDERS THE HOLIDAY SEASON AND THE HUMAN CONDITION!!!

TKC NOTE: An important and heartfelt note from Craig at the outset of the holiday season . . .

We are all special to somebody

It seems like just recently, I was spending a lot of time at a hospice right here in Kansas City. My mother, Rita, was on her deathbed and our immediate family and friends were visiting her on a daily basis. Mom had been in and out of the hospital for a year with various ailments, but as her final weeks and days approached it was clear she would not recover. As I visited her at hospice, there were a handful of other older people staying there for their final days whom I had known as a young man. I had occasion to visit not only with my mother, but several other older people at the facility. In speaking to these elderly men and women, the common thread that came back to me from them was ‘how are my family members and those I care about get along without me, will they be okay’. I found it odd that in their final days, most of these people were more interested in how their death and their departure from this Earth would hurt others and they wouldn’t be there for them in some fashion to help. I also noticed as the final days approached for all these people, their visitor attendance grew smaller and smaller until it was just the immediate family and then they were gone.

We all too often live life with the thought of our existence being important that our presence and participation in life will somehow be so overwhelming that we will never be forgotten. The simple truth is, in the end, famous or not, rich or poor there are usually just a handful of people whose lives are truly changed because we were part of their lives.

When we dream it often seems so real than we wake up and within minutes we have a hard time remembering what that weird dream was about. A few days after that vivid dream we don’t remember anything about it. Such is life itself, much like a dream. We all tend to have routines that don’t change much Monday through Friday and that slowly evolves into another redundant set of circumstances we repeat on a daily basis.

As we approach the Holiday season, it’s often a great time for reflection on just what we might mean to others, the value of our own existence. Many of us struggle through life to be more important than is necessary. I’ve come to find out that it’s those handful of people in life that count the most. Maybe it’s only temporary, the look in the eyes of children as they open a gift you gave them or took them someplace they enjoyed, perhaps it’s just sharing a family meal where everyone was in a good mood for once. Maybe it’s that feeling we get in our own home sleeping next to that special someone, knowing we are close to someone we care about, and maybe, in a nearby room, are sleeping children who count on us. Perhaps, if you are like me, a bachelor who lives alone, it’s that feeling of love and joy to have your two pets look you in the eye, knowing you will love them and feed them and for that they will love you unconditionally.

Yes, it’s the holiday season for all Americans whether you are Christian or Jewish, or even Agnostic or Athiest, it’s still that time of year when you like to feel of value to someone and know that you matter.

As we grow older, we lose things, we lose our pets, our family circle dwindles as our family members pass away with time and age and we are left with memories that are little more than snapshots of life the way we once knew it, the happy times. As we go through the traditional American Holiday of Christmas, let’s all try and reflect on the good times with all those that are no longer here to enjoy them with us. Let’s make an effort to forgive those in our lives who have upset us and most important, remember we are all valuable to somebody. You don’t have to be rich or famous to be valuable. Life is a long series of dreams and snapshots, its value is unknown. Try this Holiday season to remember that everybody counts to somebody.

Happy Holiday Season to all of you.