(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) For Enid Parker nothing compares to spending the festive season with loved ones
Holidays. Are they just a break from the grind a time to unwind with loved ones or something much more I’ve had so many people in the past telling me I should go somewhere other than home (India) and experience something different for a change.
No doubt the scope for world travel is immense in Dubai. For people blessed with reasonably well-paid jobs and not many financial responsibilities taking off to unexplored territory during vacations shouldn’t prove difficult. Unless of course you’re a homebird like me.
While I wouldn’t describe myself as someone with wanderlust I do love visiting new places and have travelled a fair bit. Yet the pull of the familiar is so strong that I have given up trying to fight it.
But there are no regrets. There is a sense of peace and tranquillity attached to going home that in all my years of experience I’ve failed to find elsewhere.
And contrary to what people who shun the crib in favour of more exotic locations may believe the familiar does not become monotonous even after many years. Just like a weathered copy of Wuthering Heights picked up in the ‘80s that I’ve read and re-read till the pages began to come loose. It now lies amongst other literary treasures in a glass-fronted case at home the sight of which always makes me smile. Who says an inanimate object can’t be welcoming
Getting together with family in December is particularly comforting. Having grown up in Dubai most Christmases were spent here with my mum dad and brother. And though I still consider the city home in a way it just doesn’t seem the same without them especially at Christmas. So I’m packing my bags and heading out… to a newer house but an old old heart.
For me Christmas has always possessed a kind of magic that makes everything and everyone seem new. It’s a time when one gets the feeling that anything could happen. Old bonds are strengthened old wounds forgotten. It may seem clichéd to some but the love and warmth that permeates the air during this time works wonders for those who are weary or jaded and feel they have nothing to look forward to. You feel hopeful alive.
Home may not always be on your itinerary but it’s nice to know that it exists a solid and unwavering presence that offers a solace and excitement no other place really does. And when there’s festive times ahead all the better reason to buy that air ticket and put a smile on the faces of those you love. (enidkhaleejtimes.com)