Sunday ☕ : Counting Down to Our Last Christmas

The twinkling of Christmas lights stretches for miles across the Texas landscape as dawn breaks outside my window. Inside our cozy home, the scent of pine needles and a roaring fire mingles with my morning coffee while I cuddle up under a thick blanket, fending off the unusual chill in the air that makes it feel more like Christmas than our typical Texas weather.

A Christmas Request

A few weeks ago, my college-age son approached us with an exciting proposition: joining his four best friends on a pre-Christmas adventure to Brazil. They planned to hike, surf, sail, and immerse themselves in the local culture. Of course, they hoped we’d contribute to their expedition. After careful consideration, we agreed it would create wonderful memories — with one crucial condition. He had to be home before Christmas. As seasoned travelers ourselves, we knew how easily holiday reunions could be derailed by flight delays, so we requested he return two days early, just in case.

Wishing Things Would Never Change

As our children grow, mature, and begin falling in love, we’re acutely aware that our time together as just our family unit of five — without spouses or partners — is finite. While relationships are blossoming, this Christmas remains boyfriend- and girlfriend-free. Though we eagerly anticipate welcoming new members into our family someday, we cherish what might be our last Christmas as our original quintet.

Moments Remembered

My son’s travel request transported me back to my first European adventure, at 19. With two weeks of pure joy coming to an end, I couldn’t bear to leave. I called my boss requesting three extra days, only to be met with an ultimatum: “NO! And if you’re not back on time, you’re fired!” His reaction blindsided me, and honestly, it made me furious — those three days seemed so inconsequential. But I dutifully returned.

Perhaps it was this memory that sparked my intuition: My son would fall in love with Brazil and want to extend his stay. Sure enough, the text arrived. His friends’ parents had agreed to the extension, and he wanted to stay.

How Can We Say No?

Now we face our own dilemma. Do we prioritize our desire for family unity at Christmas, or do we let him follow his wanderlust? His decision remains uncertain until tomorrow. But he’s an adult now, and he needs to make his choices without the weight of parental guilt. Having stood in his shoes, I suspect the allure of Brazil will outshine another Christmas at home. If this proves to be our last Christmas as our original family unit, I’ll be disappointed — but I’ll adapt.

Yet a darker thought intrudes: What if this is our last Christmas together, period? What if it’s the last for one of his siblings? Would we regret our decision?

Unexpected Change

The question of how many Christmases we have left together haunts me. When my father passed away three years ago, everything changed. Decades of Christmas celebrations with my parents and extended family ended with his departure. Now my brothers and their families have created their own traditions. What will happen when we’re gone?

The realization that we have a finite number of Christmases ahead is sobering. As we age, we understand just how precious these shared holiday moments become. This makes the possibility of my son’s absence even more poignant.

If you knew this was your last Christmas with your family, what would you do differently?

What would you plan?

What words would you make sure to say?

What legacy would you want to cement?

My parents and grandparents lived into their mid-90s, seeming eternal, until they weren’t. I’m profoundly grateful for their dedication to keeping our family connected and traditions alive. I can still taste the joy of licking the icing bowl while making Christmas cookies with my grandmother. I remember sitting on the stairs at her house, reading the Christmas story from the Bible before opening presents — a tradition we’ve passed on to our children. I cherish the memory of setting a place at the dinner table for baby Jesus to keep Christmas centered on its true meaning, and decorating the tree with precious heirloom ornaments that grew more meaningful with each passing year.

While we hope for long lives together, this Christmas deserves special attention. Treat every person you love as if it’s your last holiday season together. You’ll appreciate both them and the moment more deeply.

May you have a blessed Christmas.

Here’s what’s coming from my company, Streamline, in 2025:

January

Art Business Mastery Day www.streamlineartevents.com/marketing

Designed to help all artists, photographers, crafters, and others plan for a successful 2025, with loads of training in marketing, sales, planning, goal-setting, manifestation, pricing, advertising, Instagram marketing, marketing in a tough economy, and more.

Watercolor Live Online Art Conference. www.watercolorlive.com

Top artists from around the world teach online for four days to teach you how to do watercolor at the highest level. Beginners start with Essential Techniques Day.

February

Winter Art Escape Artist Retreat www.winterartescape.com

My new winter artist retreat, designed so plein air painters can escape the cold and snow. A week of painting, all-inclusive with room, event, painting locations, and loads of fun. All levels of painters are welcome.

March

Acrylic Live Online Art Conference www.acryliclive.com
Top artists from around the world teach online for four days to show you how to do acrylics at the highest level. Beginners start with Essential Techniques Day.

May

The Plein Air Convention & Expo www.pleinairconvention.com
A giant gathering of plein air painters, held this year in Tahoe and Reno. Five stages of art instruction over five days, a giant Expo Hall, and daily painting together with a thousand of your closest friends.

June

Paint Adirondacks Artist Retreat www.paintadirondacks.com
A week of painting the glorious Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York. One million square miles of pristine protected land. We paint in at least two locations daily, all meals and rooms included. We do music and portraits at night and make new friends.

September

Pastel Live Online Art Conference www.pastellive.com
Join the world’s top pastel artists for four days of instruction, including Essential Techniques Day for beginners.

Fall Color Week Artist Retreat www.fallcolorweek.com
In one of the most beautiful spots in America’s heartland, on the rocky cliffs of Lake Michigan. A week of painting Door County, an artists’ haven for a hundred-plus years. All-inclusive with room, meals, painting locations, and all evening activities.

October

Stay tuned. We’re working on two new trips!

November

PleinAir Live Online Art Conference www.pleinairlive.com
Join the world’s top plein air painters as we discover the joy of landscape painting outdoors.

Who Is This Guy Eric Rhoads?

Eric is the founder and publisher of PleinAir magazine, Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine (both on newsstands nationally), author and host six of Art Marketing instructional videos and has a blog on Art Marketing, and is author of the Amazon best seller Make More Money Selling Your Art. He produces newsletters American Watercolor, Fine Art Today, Plein Air Today and RealismToday, Creator of; The Plein Air Convention, The Plein Air Salon $30,000 Art Competition, The Figurative Art Convention & Expo, Plein Air Live, Realism Live and Watercolor Live Virtual art conferences. Art instruction video with Paint Tube.TV (art instruction on Roku, Amazon Fire, and Apple TV) and host of several painting retreats: Fall Color Week, Paint Adirondacks and PaintRussia, plus an annual collector Fine Art Trip, Rhoads hosts a daily art broadcast on Youtube and Facebook (search Streamline Art Video). He is a plein air , landscape and portrait painter with works at Castle Gallery. He is also heavily involved in the radio industry as founder of Radio Ink, as well as Radio and Television Business Report, the Radio Ink Forecast Conference, Podcast Business Journal, and the Radio Ink Hispanic Radio Conference. He is the author of a best-selling book on the History of radio; Blast From the Past: A Pictorial History of Radio's First 75 Years. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his bride Laurie and they are the parents of triplets. Learn more at EricRhoads.com or see Everything We Do.