In Belgium Christmas is celebrated on December 24.  I went to Maarkedal yesterday to join eleven other human beings for the celebration.  People such as my friend Lydia, her children Lore and Baziel, and her mother Marie-paule.

1.  Christmas Dinner

Around the long table we grilled our meats, vegetables and eggs.  Voices filled the air … mostly Dutch, some French and occasionally English.  My Dutch and French are thoroughly basic, and virtually non-existent when folks talk fast.

So I listened to the music of unknown conversations.  I watched faces brighten in joy at the punchline of a joke.  I danced with the other dancers.  I was included, and I felt it.

I had a long talk with Marie-paule about the troubles in life and how love is bigger than them all.  We talked slowly (!) and mostly in French.  Often I couldn’t find the right word but we still met.

2.  Overnight

It’s a logical progression: too much food and too much champagne  >  nausea.  Those six letters stayed with me for most of the night.  Sitting on the side of the bed with my plastic barf bag (like Düsseldorf!) wondering if the explosions would begin.  Unlike Düsseldorf, they didn’t.  Thank God.

When, oh when, will I learn the error of my ways?  I can’t eat like I used to, and alcohol is approaching the status of poison.  This man needs his sleep and a calm tummy.  Perhaps when I’m older I’ll wise up.

3.  On the Train With Baziel

He’s a medical student and had to get back to Gent to study.  Exams are looming.

Baziel visited me in Canada in 2019 as a young teen … and now he’s a young man, one who can absorb astonishing amounts of medical information.

We talked about family.  We talked about cycling, including tomorrow’s cyclocross race in Gavere (I’m going!).  And then I asked him to tell me about something he’s learning right now.

Baziel chose cancer.  He spoke clearly, using basic terminology, to communicate with the old fellow sitting across from him.  I learned about the complex mutating of genes, and how a tumour seems to have a consciousness as it tries to trick the body.

This was not the kid begging to go to McDonald’s every second day.  This was the future Dr. Baziel.

4.  A WhatsApp Call From Canada

Cam Clark is my oldest friend.  We met when we were 15.  Tonight he and his partner Ann Higgins phoned me from across the ocean.  Their voices were sweet.

Cam and Ann live most of the year surrounded by the woods and lake of Lion’s Head, Canada.  They love sitting outside in the morning and watching their tomato plants grow.  They love going for a walk on their shady road, a trip that takes fifteen minutes back and forth “without talking” … and three hours when there’s life to share with neighbours.  Lion’s Head is home.

We rambled through the years on the phone, and then towards April, when I’ll visit Canada – and them.  It’ll be a blessed reunion.

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Christmas 2024

I hope it was a blessing for you and your loved ones

Merry Christmas