This year we are bucking traditions and trading in the Christmas Tree for palm trees!
A couple years ago my mom got herself a little winter place in California, as a way to get out from under the north-Idaho Winter Blues. It gets dark really early, in winter in northern Idaho. The days are short, the weather is bleak, and it’s no accident that “Seasonal Affective Disorder” spells out SAD! We worried for her emotional well-being in winters; she has a robust social life, but since my dad died, she’s still alone in that house—and without even the company of a kitty, since her companion Mila passed away a couple years ago. It’s just a tough season, and (like me) she’s kind of a plant: she needs her sunshine!
So she got this little place in Indio, near Palm Springs. It’s a retirement park of, in essence, tiny homes—and hers is light and bright and airy and cheerful… And it’s under palm trees. And it’s sunny in winter. And it’s kind of perfect.
I visited her there, this past spring, and it was delightful to see not only her little winter home, but the engaging community that comes with it. She joined two choirs, she goes to dances and game nights, she swims and plays pickleball and zips around on her bike, and she took me on a round of social visits to friends and neighbors…There’s a wood-shop and a quilting room and a library and a puzzle room, putting greens and pickleball courts and two pools and a full-to-bursting social schedule of events and activities.
With flags on our heads we went to cheer the U.S. team in the park’s annual Americans-vs.-Canadians golf tournament.
And when we sat out on her porch with our coffees in the morning, several neighbors wandered over and we ended up with a spontaneous coffee-hour party.
I don’t worry about her in winter, now.
Until this year, she has waited until January to head down there, because Jon & I always spend Christmas with her. This year I asked her if she didn’t want to head south sooner—we could do Christmas in California. So that’s exactly the plan. We agreed to skip Christmas presents—except for “stocking stuffers”—and she pitched in toward plane tickets, and I am very pleased with the prospect of packing a swimsuit for Christmas. I can spend Christmas barefoot! We’re still planning on Christmas caroling—but it will be under a palm tree this year.
Kana's Chronicles 