It Might Still Be Dark Out, But It Won't Last. Merry Christmas.

           

There's a reason I light everything up
this time of year….

Christmas is almost here and I still have not seen two of my favorite Christmas movies on TV – Elf and Holiday In Handcuffs. This is not to say these are my only favorites. I also love National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, White Christmas, and who can forget The Night They Saved Christmas with Charlie’s Angel Jaclyn Smith? I did yesterday, however, watch The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari – the original 1919 German silent horror film. It was pretty weird and awesome. I’m just not feeling super Christmasy. Today I found myself wanting to listen to Mos Def’s The New Danger (specifically the track where he’s yelling “F@#$ you- Pay me!”). Sadly, I do not have that album on my phone.

            The barrage of emails from every retailer on earth has been pretty irritating. “Buy this.” “Get this.” “Perfect gift!” “We’ll even give you free overnight shipping.” “Oh it’s too late to ship? Buy a gift card!!!!!” How about no? Nothing about what they’re trying to sell me sounds joy inducing, not to mention my delete finger is getting tired and I’m starting to want to throw the computer out the window. I only bought presents for the wee folk in my life – ages almost-2, 5, and 7. I get to watch the older girls open their presents; it's sure to be a delight. Cora (5) is QUITE opinionated, so it’s possible that she may not like her present. And if she doesn’t, she WILL tell me, and probably what she would like instead. And that would also make me smile, because she’s just a treasure and a serious giggler. I think I know my little girlfriends pretty well though, so we’ll be all set.

            The holidays are a difficult time of year for a lot of us for a variety of reasons. There’s so much shit and baggage we’ve accumulated. People stop being nice. It becomes all about getting stuff, when we should probably just be chucking stuff. It’s hard to not get sucked down the pit of gloom. I find Facebook to be a potential pit of gloom and mass complaint, whining, outdoing, or just plain old narcissism. So, I deactivated my account. Tomorrow, I’m going to go skating at lunchtime. Not much quiets my mind like that amazing slicing sound of the blades hitting the surface and gliding through. It helps me find a center of contentment.

            If you are finding yourself, like me, a little less than joyous, I encourage you to do something that takes your mind off of the crap. And if you are too far gone to be able to think of that something (I sometimes forget about the ice rink, so I get it), then perhaps turn your thoughts to the wee ones. The ones who haven’t accumulated the baggage yet or who may have had tough things happen in their lives, but still know that there are things they can do that are fun and might make them laugh. Envisioning the sheer joy and love my little friends so often show me does wonders to remind me that there is still lightness in the world. And if not my little friends, then my dog, who plays fetch with himself. And, I'm not going to lie - sometimes (okay, a lot of times) crass things also make me laugh (see THE GROWN-ASS WOMAN’S GUIDE TO: WHEN IT’S TIME TO SWITCH TO WATER, which also conveniently serves as my gentle nudge to you that getting wasted will not make you feel better in the long run).

            Wishing you peace and light this Christmas week and into the New Year. And when all hope is lost, just remember that the sunlight is coming back. It shines brightly every day no matter what, no matter what anyone says, just because. We can do it too.