A holiday note to those of you who might not have gotten my card

Do you remember when you were very young, how long it took for Christmas to arrive?

The weeks seemed to drag by until the day finally came. As I write this, as I do all my Sunday columns, a full week prior to publication, I can’t believe there are only six more days until Christmas.

Like the bits of red ribbon peeking out from my wrapping box, I still have a few trailing odds and ends to finish up. Two very big gifts bestowed upon me this past week are Val’s return home from a several-week nursing home stay at Apple Rehabilitation in Guilford and a delightful visit with my daughter, Marianne, who was briefly in New York following a business trip to Washington and before flying back to her home in San Francisco.

Along with what seemed to be the entire Shoreline population, I grabbed a train for New York this past Saturday. The day was cold but clear, and I snagged a last-minute discounted ticket to the matinee performance of “Follies,” an entertaining trip down memory lane for the senior set with some rousing numbers that brought the house down.

Literally, tap dancing my way out of the theater, I met Marianne for dinner, and then we proceeded to Rockefeller Center where I was able to show her this year’s magnificent tree and share with her the memory of my own mother explaining the story of the beautiful golden statue of Prometheus who, in defiance of the god Zeus, stole fire to give to earthly mortals so that we would not perish.

Then, after looking at the Saks 5th Avenue windows, we made our way from 50th Street down toward Lord & Taylor at 38th Street (a long walk on a cold night), passing street dancers and pretzel hawkers along the way. This area is now a wasteland in so far as nice department stores are concerned.

Gone are Peck & Peck, Russeks, Best & Co., De Pinna and, of course, beloved B. Altman at 34th. Lord & Taylor’s windows as always, tell a story, are animated and the very spirit of Christmas. By now, my feet and legs were giving out and with no taxis in sight, Marianne spied one of those bicycle pedi-cabs and overcoming my hesitancy with the perfect logic that I had, after all, ridden in one while in Thailand, we climbed inside and snuggled under the welcome warmth of a blanket. Despite my misgivings, our bicycle driver skillfully negotiated careless pedestrians and aggressive cabs, and we did arrive safely at Grand Central where I bid good-bye to my daughter.

And, dear reader, I must now do the same to you, with warmest wishes to you and yours for a happy, healthy holiday season.

- Article by Jean Cherni, founder of the retirement advisory service, Senior Living Solutions. Contact her at jeancherni@sbcglobal.net or 15 The Ponds at Hotchkiss Grove, Branford 06405.

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