January 5, Twelfth Night, the Eve of the Epiphany, the last evening that precedes the Twelfth Day of Christmas. Ok, that can be a little confusing but think like most businesses that are open 24 hours think, such as a hospital or a large supermarket. At most places where a day takes up 24 hours, shifts for any given day don’t begin at midnight. They start the evening before the following day. Ok, that’s still confusing. Trust us, tonight is Twelfth Night, tomorrow is the Twelfth Day of Christmas, aka the Epiphany. Remember? Those three kings bearing gifts following yonder star. Star of wonder. Star of light. Ok, now hold that thought.
We were talking the other day about things like New Year’s Resolutions (which if you read our post from January 2 you know we’re holding until March), needy friends, and end of the year burn out. We don’t have so many friends that we can afford to alienate any of them by not responding to their needs. On the other hand, we don’t have so many free hours in any day that we can constantly be serving their neediness. That was when we had our own epiphany. That’s epiphany with a little “e” – a sudden intuitive leap of understanding. We have become Star Polishers.
She of We coined the phrase “Star Polisher” to describe those people that one turns to when one needs his or her self-esteem or star, brightened or polished. Like most couples, we are each other’s star polisher. It really only takes a little maintenance to keep our stars shiny and bright. Most of the time we do it without even noticing that we are doing it. A comment about looking nice today, a thank you for dinner, or an unexpected gift.
The ability to polish somebody’s star is an awesome responsibility. Friends and loved ones seek you out because they know that no matter what, you will make them feel warm and worthwhile and connected to this thing we call life. Seeing and finding the best part of people when they want to give up or give in is a gift. It’s the listening, the smile, or even the tears that keep us connected to each other. And as we begin a new year it’s time to reconnect with each other.
She of We is such a good polisher that many of her stars have found their own twinkle. A professional in the hard sciences who really would rather be an artist becoming that artist and seeing his work hung in a gallery. A musician once literally travelling from gig to gig now filling rooms at request with each person called by name, each thanked personally. A manager once questioning if his ascent was only because he was around the longest now confident that even if a new Day One should ever come he’ll still be “top of the heap.” They are enough to make a Star Polisher beam.
But Star Polishers must be wary of the Star who never gets bright enough. These stars know who they are. They call or text about every problem in life no matter how inconvenient it may be. They know exactly when they are becoming tarnished – the bad relationship, the lousy job, nobody understands them. They claim so many blemishes all at once that even an extra strength polishing isn’t going to satisfy them. They hover in your doorway at work, they are on your voicemail at home, and they are in your e-mail at both. They never ask if you have time to spend on them. It never occurs to them to ask how you are. They barge right in and are taken aback if you have to delay the polishing until a better time, even if it means only a few minutes delay.
Star Polishers need to take special care not to have their own stars burned out. Sometimes the Polishers have to admit that they have given all the shine that they have. They love you and wish you nothing but the best but it’s time to look inside yourself and shine on your own for a while. There are times when even She of We uses so much energy polishing other stars that she loses some of her shine. Your job if you find yourself polished up by one of her kind is to say “thank you” and acknowledge the unexpected gift that you’ve been given. Take a moment to become the Polisher’s Polisher. That’s the number one way to make sure your own Star Polisher will always have some sparkle handy for you.
So it’s only one gift. It was only one star. And it’s still pretty bright.
Now, that’s what we think. Really. How ‘bout you?
La Befana traditionally is pictured with her broom and a shawl sometimes blackened with soot from cleaning the hearths where she leaves her gifts, sometimes in colorful patches to commemorate the gilded cloths the Wise Men wore. The basket she carries contains sweets and books for the good and coal and garlic for the naughty. She takes up her search every year on January 5, the eve of the Epiphany which then ends the Christmas season.
Although the beneficiary of his parents’ significant wealth, Nicolas was raised simply at the monastery and eventually was ordained a priest and distributed his wealth among the poor. After many years in the Holy Land he returned to Lycia and was consecrated Bishop of Myra.
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