Nice to be home for the holidays
It had been a long time coming, but I finally got a chance to head up to my hometown of Hayward for Christmas. I hadn’t been back there since the third week in July, and let me tell you, the contrast between Hayward in the summer and Hayward in the winter is stark.
For starters, there’s far less people walking up and down Main Street. At this point in the year, the tourists have mostly come and gone. Oh sure, you got those who have cabins up north, and love to snowmobile, ice fish and ski.
Not that there was much of that going on. During my three day stay in Hayward, temperatures reached as high as 45 degrees on Friday, and the sound of snow melting could be heard as it trickled off the roof of my best friend’s place.
We both remarked how much it seemed like March out there, and it felt good to pretend that it was spring, and not winter in Wisconsin. It was nice to have those few days of winter warmth, especially in light of the heavy snowstorms that have swept through central Wisconsin and Colby and Abbotsford.
The temps are about to plunge as well, so our respite from Old Man Winter was brief. But when you’re among friends, time moves freely, and I suspect this winter will pass as quickly as my three and a half days in Hayward.
I spent most of it with my family, handing my presents to my niece and my sister. My niece is growing so fast these days. Every time I see her, she gets prettier, and taller.
She’s starting to attract the attention of boys now, and I’m not sure how I feel about that. We went to the movie theater to see the new Spider-Man movie, and I saw her waving to a group of friends. Some looked to be sophomores and juniors, and I joked with my niece not to give them any encouragement.
Truth be told, I’m not quite ready to see Kaylin date. She’s 14 years old, so I know it will happen sooner rather than later, but she’ll always be that little girl that asked me to scratch her back or comb her hair while she read me whatever books she was interested in.
When I wasn’t spending time with my family, I hung out with my friends. This time around, there were more of them in Hayward. Some of them had come up to see their parents, and were just visiting, but more than a few had said they had moved back to raise their own kids in Hayward and give them an experience similar to our upbringing.
It won’t be the same, what with all the social media apps and smartphones and the ever changing technology. But certain parts about living in a small town never change - like everyone knowing your name and your parents and siblings.
That’s one of the more fun things about visiting Hayward. I get to reconnect with people whenever I am there, and catch up on people’s lives. It’s one of the reasons I look forward to being home for the holi- days. The years come and go, but that little town in the northwoods always brings people back.
My friends are all settling into their careers, and settling into family life. And it’s fun to see them talk about putting up Christmas trees and Christmas lights. Now that we’re all a little older, I understand why my parents kept the Christmas lights on the deck year round.
It’s too much of a hassle to put them back out, especially in the winter. And if a light bulb goes bad, you just swap it out for a new one.
I didn’t get many gifts for Christmas this year. In fact, I asked my sister and niece not to give me gifts. It’s been another trying year, with COVID stalking the state and the country still.
I told my sister to spend the money on herself and her daughter and her close circle of friends. Just being around my family was gift enough. Thought that didn’t stop her from buying me a pair of nice, wool socks because she just can’t help herself.
As I sit and write this, I think about the final week of 2021. I think about the past twelve months, and the stories I have told. It’s been a crazy ride, through a great deal of uncertainty.
The future, and in particular this winter, are kind of scary. There’s a lot that can happen, a lot that can go wrong. But there’s also a lot that can go right.
The fact that we’re all still here, at the end of one year and the beginning of a new year proves it. Maybe that’s the best gift this year - a future.
M USINGS AND G RUMBLINGS
ROSS PATTERMANN REPORTER
