What Do You Want For Christmas?

I came back a couple week ago from visiting my family in Hong Kong.  I had not seen my mom for three years because of some health issues of mine.  I could tell my mom was concerned, but she never said a thing about it.   It was clear that she was very happy to see me home again.  She had been waiting all this time.  I could also tell she enjoyed my company.  When I was in front of her, she would often watched me intently with a smile, but without saying a word.  When we went out together, I would hold her hand like she used to hold mine when I was little.  My mom would squeeze my hand a certain way so that our hands would not come apart.

During our visit in Hong Kong, Mike, my mom and I went on a boat cruise in the Victoria Harbor to watch the daily light show.  We got to ride the only existing traditional Chinese sailboat in Hong Kong.  We would never have thought about taking such a trip, if not because my high school friend who is the spouse of the current owner of the boat, Dukling, offered us the opportunity.

The crew gave us the best spot on the deck, right in front of the captain's control room.  During the light show,  laser beams, flood lights and colorful LED flashed back and forth from the two sides of the harbor.  My mom watched with eyes wide open and a huge smile on her face.  "I came when I was 11.  I have lived in Hong Kong for so many decades.  I have never seen its beauty like this before . . ."  I heard my mother murmured.

My mom is 78 years old.  She stood on the deck of a moving boat for at least 20 minutes.  I was concerned that she might get tired and offered to help her sit down several times.  Every single time, she waved my hand away and insisted to stay there to watch some more.  Out of concern, I stood there with one hand on my mom's back, and another one holding her hand while she held onto the canopy of the boat.  I hate to admit: she made me think of Kate Winslet in Titanic . . .

Needless to say, my mother thoroughly enjoyed the boat trip and the light show.  You can see tremendous joy in her eyes.  For a moment, she almost turned into a carefree child again, and I got to be there to experience it with her.  If you ask me, I enjoyed watching my mother's happy face even more than watching the light show.  The smile on my mom's face was priceless.

After my return from Hong Kong, I got a call from my mother-in-law.
"We need your list."
"What list, Mom?"
"Your Christmas list.  What do you want for Christmas?"
"Nothing really.  I have plenty of everything already.  I don't need more things."
"We need your list.  Let us know what we can give you for Christmas."
"I really am not in need of anything, Mom.  We will come see you.  That would be enough."

To keep a long story short, the conclusion of the conversation is, still, I need to come up with a list.

I am very lucky to have nice and kind in-laws with whom I have good relationships.  I know they love me, and I love them, too.  Yet, there are certain things we can never quite work out.  This Christmas gift thing is one of them.

I find it sad that people nowadays get to spend less and less time with their loved ones.  As a result, we tend to rely on things to express our feelings for each other.  Whatever we do not do enough, we make it up with things.  The quantity and price tags are now a proxy of our love and how much we care.

If you can, what would you wish for Christmas?  If I can, I would love to see my mom again.  I want to hold her hand.  I want to watch her smile like a little child one more time.  Also, I don't mind being pressed for a Christmas list again, and again . . .