Now that the pre-Christmas rush is behind us and we are in the lull between Christmas and the New Year, I find myself reflecting on memories of many Christmases shared with my housemates over my years in shared housing. Some of the most memorable experiences cause more of a chuckle than a sweet sigh: like the time a fuse blew in the oven, halfway through cooking the turkey, which sent me running out to the corner store (which was thankfully still open) while my housemate tended the kitchen. We got the oven going again in plenty of time for dinner. Another time, our guests started to arrive just as the smoke alarm went off due to grease from a leaky roasting pan. Again, there were enough people to come to the rescue before the fire department arrived. And then there was the time a helpful friend poured soapy water into the roasting pan, after the turkey was removed, but before I’d made gravy! I quickly rinsed it out and judged there were still enough pan drippings and proceeded to make the gravy. No one suffered as a result.
The sweet memories come from sharing family traditions from each of my home mates. I served the tortieres that my mother always made for Christmas Eve, and one housemate introduced us to the stollen her family always enjoyed on Christmas morning. (I say “us” because I almost always shared a home with at least two other people. In my experience three or four home mates make for the best balance in a household.)
And the Christmas dinners we shared were always memorable. We usually had several mutual friends come, but we enjoyed introducing a few new faces to mix it up a bit; there were always a few people who would otherwise have been on their own for Christmas. Living far from my family, I’d been there, and didn’t want to see anyone else go through that! One of my housemates was a master of table décor and the meal was often an orchestrated “pot luck” so no one carried the load of all that cooking.
Even at times when everyone was heading out to visit their own families, coming home to a house full of friends provided a soft landing for what could otherwise feel like a let-down after the warm intensity of the holidays. Community becomes especially precious at times like these.
Happy New Year, everyone!
Golden Girls Canada is owned and operated by Golden HomeSharing Connections
Home-mate matching services for older adults by accredited
seniors real estate specialist (SRES) Dorothy Mazeau.
Want to know more?
Tune in to the Zoomer Radio 740AM show “From a Woman’s Perspective” the first Saturday each month and listen to Dorothy talk about housing options!
Invite Dorothy to speak at your next service club, church or social group meeting. Her presentation *An Introduction to Golden Girls Living * offers plenty of food for thought!