Picking Up The Pieces: A Look into Maud Newton's "Cleaning Up Christmas"

Do you have those family members who you see once a year, more out of obligation than an actual desire, and the other 364 days of the year you see whoever you please? Why has this become the situation in so many families, that not even the same blood coursing through veins is enough to tolerate each other? I never refer to my extended family as being close and always was astounded when I watched movies like The Godfather, where family was everything, even worth dying for. I often wished we would prioritize in my family and all get together a couple times a year, but everyone is always, “too busy.”

This is one of the ideas in Maud Newton’s blog post, "Cleaning up Christmas," where she visits her dad for the first time in awhile and when he leaves, ends up cleaning out all of the stuff that has accumulated in the house over the years. Maud symbolizes her dad’s loneliness with his decrepit bathmat, which she thinks shows the deterioration of his life. Her father’s house is also described as looking empty and sometimes asked if for sale. She craved to see him not because she wanted to be in his company, but because she felt guilty since she is the only family he has left. Maud’s writing made me feel such remorse and sadness for this man whom I have no connection to whatsoever.

What I liked about this piece is that it has a tremendous amount of heart. Despite Maud depicting her relationship with her father as tricky and describing him as a workaholic lawyer, I could tell that she has a fondness for him. Although she seems to describe him almost as a stranger in some ways, (when she mentions his many girlfriends and that he would leave in the middle of the night when she stayed there) it is evident that she has no anger towards him. As Maud is going through his things, she is reminiscing about her childhood, fondly rather than negatively.

I would recommend reading this because I think this situation is relatable. You cannot expect to get along with everyone in your family, but when all is said and done, they are still your family. This is the kind of story that makes you re-think your feelings towards your family. It also shows that there is hope maybe not to completely fix things, but to make them a little better.

Maybe not to this extent, but I always admired the loyalty the Corleone's had to each other

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