There seems to be this myth – and most every thinking person knows it is – that the holidays are wonderful, joy-filled days for nearly everyone. Au contraire: they can be quite tough for some people. As About.com put it, “It’s okay, however, to admit that [family] get-togethers aren’t always a fancy-free walk down Candy Cane Lane.” Even those who generally love the season can feel worn down by too much shopping/cooking/traveling to do.
A few years ago, my church had a service about a week before Christmas for those struggling with the holidays. It wasn’t greatly attended; a LOT of that was the weather. But I also wonder if one did want to self-identify as one of THOSE people who find the time frame to be a bit of a drag.
I still remember Christmas Eve in 1990. I was at a choir party when we heard that our tenor section leader, Sandy Cohen, had had a heart attack. Soon thereafter, we got word that he had died. And THEN we had to go sing at the 10:30 p.m. service; talk about tough.
So does Advent/Christmas bring you down a little, and if so, how do you combat it? For me, it’s eggnog and amaretto.
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To Xmas and beyond
What Christmas Means to Me – Stevie Wonder, possibly my favorite pop song Christmas tune.
What brings me down it’s the thought of that after holiday period, when all the presents had been given, all the celebration had been done and we have to go back to our normal everyday life but the streets are still filled with christmas decorations that make me a little nostalgic about the days that just passed.
This will be the first year we haven’t been with at least one daughter on Christmas Day. I have very mixed emotions about this. I hope those with family close-by realize how blessed they are to be able to see them regularly.
Im ok with Obama in a 2nd term relative to the alternativ-e Republican nominee. But thats not the only reason. I think Obama is liberal at heart but needs a bit more political leverage via these demonstrat-ion and demand from the public to right the economic inequaliti-es by pushing through more liberal economic policies. food health