During this past winter break, I visited my grandmother in upstate New York. This was my grandmother on my mom's side, and my mom is one of ten. With Grandma's kids and some of those also having kids, it usually makes for a good time whenever we all have enough free time to converge on Grandma's house. This was one of those times.
The fall semester had recently ended, and without any classes to keep my life structured, I spent a lot of time staying up late and sleeping in. This did not change when I went to Grandma's. In upstate New York, or pretty much any place that isn't New York City, I have discovered that there is this amazing thing called peace and quiet. I took advantage of the opportunity and spent ample time relaxing.
One afternoon, I was still in my pajamas, hanging out with my uncle and cousins in the living room, and just having a good time talking. They were headed out to go shopping. Eager to continue conversing with my uncle, I followed him all the way outside, talking to him, when it dawned on me that perhaps I should go with them.
But I didn't want to.
Going outside, out of my comfort zone, out in my pajamas, did not seem so appealing today. I tried to look for excuses as to why I could not go with them when all of a sudden, my two younger cousins appeared at the door, asking if I wanted to play video games with them. My excuse had arrived. I remarked that I thought I would stay and hang out with them instead.
And so we did. They had just gotten a new Xbox One for Christmas and were playing the new "Minecraft: Story Mode" game. I am not much of a fan of games like this, but I honestly got very into it. The story and the characters were extremely engaging, and even though it was one-player, we all watched and took turns. We must have done this for three hours.
Later that night, at dinner, as everyone talked about their day, my grandma remarked how nice it was that I had decided to stay with my smaller cousins rather than go out with everyone else that day. And the guilt rushed over me like a wave. I did not do what I did out of kindness but rather out of a need to be comfortable.
But I thought about it. I did have a good time in the end, and so did my cousins. And then I realized something, that just spending time with someone, just hanging out, is an incredibly powerful thing.
Had my grandma not pointed out how it was such a good thing that I did, I would have never given it a second thought. It would have just been that one time I played video games with my cousins at my grandma's house instead of deciding to go outside. I would have never realized that within something as simple as deciding what I want to do today lies the power to make a difference.
And that is something important to think about. Nowadays people say that in order to change the world, we need to pass a law or start a revolution. Sure, that may be part of it, but if it's missing the simple aspect of enjoying being together, of enjoying life, then those attempts are in vain.
