A group of sloths is called a snuggle. Did you know that? I didn’t.
I’m sure the animals themselves don’t worry about such labels. They don’t look around and count to see if they’ve reached an official snuggle quorum. I’m not sure why we worry about the names either, but somebody somewhere went to the trouble to come up with one for a lot of these gatherings. A prickle of porcupines? A smack of jellyfish? A knot of toads? The guy must have had a ball.
Few of us will ever come upon a prickle of porcupines, but we might land smack dab in the middle of a holiday gathering of people who can sling barbs with the best of them.
There will be Uncle Jim, who knows everything (just ask him), refuses to relinquish the only recliner and insists on holding forth like a parliament of owls. (And just for the record, “Who cares?” would not be a kind response.) Everyone knows that Aunt Ida and Aunt Grace have been circling each other for years and will seize this opportunity to not-so-subtly say things like the ham looks a bit skimpy for the number of people gathered, or the mashed potatoes might have been creamier if someone had used whole milk, and if you had let her host like she wanted, at least all of the dinner plates would have matched.
Admittedly, it’s a lot, and you may grow weary of running interference. That’s fair, but being the designated family peacemaker, you need to at least try. If you start to falter, let your sister tag in for a while and take a few moments to step outside. I don’t care if it’s below freezing. Breathe in the crisp night air, look up at the stars, and remind yourself why you’re there in the first place. You love these people. They love you. They’re not really a murder of crows or a quiver of cobras … very often. They’re just family, and whether you feel like it right now or not, you’re blessed to have them in your life.
People are complicated creatures. They’ve come to this place carrying their successes and failures, their gifts and their wounds. They’ve held on through an entire year of unseen chaos and struggle and doubt in order to make it to this place in this moment. Why? To celebrate a love that transcends all that noise and disappointment, a moment in a faraway time that changed every moment going forward. They might not think about it during the family throw-down Scrabble game, but it’s the truth.
So, take one more deep breath, turn around and go back inside. Listen to Uncle Jim’s stories. Throw in a “No kidding!” every once in a while to show you’re paying attention. Compliment the cook. All of them. Say you really shouldn’t, but you’re just going to have to have a small slice of everything. It will make them smile. And while you’re at it, you should smile, too, and laugh every time you get the chance. Laughter is good for what ails everyone.
After dinner, well fed and well loved, you might gather around Uncle Jim in the living room to form a bloat like the hippos. That’s OK. You can deal with the fallout in your New Year’s resolutions.
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas. I do. With good food and good company and good memories made. And while a snuggle of sloths sounds wonderful, I hope your holiday is as much fun as a barrel full of monkeys.
