Women's group talk

 

Hayter for December 8, 2024

“The only Male in the Room”

We now find ourselves faced with two and a half weeks before Christmas. There were times in my life when I was head over heels excited about a two-and-a-half-week Christmas wait. I never knew there would come a time when I’d be this unexcited about Christmas.

When I was a kid, it was all about the gifts. Oh, and the two-week break from school. When I was teaching it was all about the two-week break from school. Now that I’m retired, I’ve got no anticipation whatsoever.

My sister Jill invited everyone to her house on Christmas afternoon. No meal, just a gift exchange, and desserts. So far, including Jill, five of us have agreed to be there. That means Kay and I only have three gifts to purchase. Of course, knowing our family, which each of us does, there will be some who show up unannounced. They’ll learn the hard way that I don’t get gifts for no-shows who show. Santa might’ve done stuff like that, but I knew the real Mr. Claus. Santa was my friend. But, he’s gone now, and I’m not taking his place.

I’m afraid that I’m at a stage in life where I’m getting Bob Cratchit-ty. No worries, I’ll pull out of it around mid-January. I actually sounded almost Christmasy last Tuesday during a talk with a group of widows at Crossroad Baptist Church. Several months back I agreed to give a Christmas talk to the group. I had no recollection of the agreement, but when I flipped my calendar over to December, sure enough, Carol Gillespie was not blowing smoke.

So, there I am a 75-year-old retired guy who needs to reminisce about Christmas. No way could I share the fact that, as a kid, I was much more excited about gift getting, than I was the baby Jesus being away in a manger. I have long since cleared that with Jesus, so I’m in good standing now. And get this, He has a great sense of humor. In fact, he invented it.

Regardless, I asked Kay to come along with me, so there would be at least one person I recognized. I was older than most of the women there. If there was anyone in there that I was supposed to know, we had both forgotten one another. As it turned out, I found myself standing before a group of women each of whom had a great sense of humor.

The ladies were the perfect audience. They didn’t seem too upset that I was the only man in the room. The person who originally invited me thought I was Mary Hayter. I get that a lot. -- By the way, Mary Hayter was my great-aunt who lived in Oklahoma. An absolute jewel, that woman.

I never mentioned my Aunt Mary during my talk at Crossroad Baptist. They would’ve liked her, but I wasn’t prepared to revisit Oklahoma. Instead, I talked about what a wonderment it is that each one of us showed up on this particular day at this particular place. I went back to my early days and traced myself forward to that very room.

Kay and I would’ve never moved to Conroe had I not joked to my High School Social Studies Teacher about wanting to be either a cowboy or a forest ranger. It was a joke! But, that nonsensical comment ended up with me getting a degree in Forestry and Stephen F. Austin University, and a job with the Texas Forest Service District 6 in Conroe, Texas. Over the years a few dozen other things took place that eventually put me right there among a group of widows gathered at Crossroad Baptist in the Woodlands.

By the way, you need to trace the many incidents that eventually placed you where you are now; the people you’ve known, the jobs you’ve had, the person you married… Was it a fluke, or were you in some way directed to be where you are right now?

After the talk, I decided to read one of my Christmas Short stories. After all, it was a Christmas gathering. I asked Kay to select the most appropriate story. She chose “Evie Gets Arrested”. It was about a young girl who persuaded her Daddy to make the family go Christmas caroling with her. And, yes, the girl gets arrested. -- Kay did indeed make a good selection.

My biggest concern at the moment is coming up with another Christmas Short Story for the Courier and Villager on the week of Christmas. The more stories I come up with, the more difficult it becomes for me to write something different. The writers at Hallmark Christmas Movies haven’t managed to come up with new plots.  

Regardless, at some point between now and Christmas, I’ve got to invent another story. Either that or pull one out of the Way Back Machine. If it comes to that, I’ll find one that I don’t remember.

Till then, let’s each slow things down, so we can anticipate Christmas longer. That may not excite me as much as it used to, but then again, I’m not too old to change.

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