... and it finally happened

Today is December 24th. Does that ring any bells? Christmas bells, to be more precise? I am on my way to Florida with all my family. As every year during the last ten years, we drive 1,500 miles south from our native New Jersey to visit Vicky’s family and go with them through the rituals of the Holidays, both religious and pagan.

This time is like the other ones but is also different. I mean, we will probably do the same things, but according to how things are going after 20 hours in our van, there is an interesting twist in my role: for the first time, I have been relegated to the passenger role for most of the trip! Andrea is now well capable of helping me out as driver, and as a result, I can now seat on the second row and enjoy pleasures/boredoms such as watching the landscape change as we move closer to the Caribbean, or seating on the computer to type as we move on the Florida Turnpike, like we are doing now.

It is a minor change, indeed, but it represents a transition that runs deep in the family structure and roles, because it represents a power shift. I don’t mean it in a bad way, no. I feel great to live to see how my daughters and son are taking their role and building their lives, and it is nice to be able to lay back (literally, on the coach seat of the van now assigned to me, and figuratively, as they start to become autonomous and more independent and don’t depend on us as much as before), and enjoy the ride… or isn’t it? It is not very dense, but somehow, this thought is clear enough to be identifiable: Finally, I am old.

Merry Christmas everyone!