Christmas

When Christmas Is Sad

Backstory

On my sad Christmases, I would write. The keys on my computer would fly. It might be spilling all my sorrow, putting my anger into words, shouting out the injustice of my circumstance. Others shed tears to cope. Some go away, avoiding the setting of their last happy holiday. Others return to that special place. Some folks are lost, seeking a means to calm the hurt.

Click to listen or follow below to read.

Christmas Sad – #123

There are times when Christmas is sad. You may be missing a loved one, or you may be far away from home, on your own, or you may be the one left behind with your loved one serving of a battlefield halfway across the world. Sometimes it helps to remember not only this sad Christmas, but all of them, stacked up in a row from childhood until now.

Considering all of the holidays in our lifetime, some are bound to be better than others. But, ah, the good ones were really fine. Think about them and you’ll simply HAVE to smile as you remember words and actions, laughter and love.

Take out photos and relive those times, so warm and loving. No one can take those precious memories away. They may be the greatest gift we were given. Once a good thing happens, it can always be conjured up again in your mind. It can always make you smile as you remember, relive and enjoy it all over again.

So this Christmas, whether it’s one of your best or not, may you have the comfort of memories of Christmases past and may you smile and enjoy them all over again.

Wishing you a Christmas with a peaceful heart.

P.S.

It’s so easy to become sour when holiday plans go awry or you are sad. You want to blame someone or take it out on somebody. Instead, do something for someone else – or a lot of elses.

Take over someone’s job so they can be home with family on Christmas.
Serve at a soup kitchen – dressed up nicely for the holiday.
Sit with someone who is ill, so the caregiver can be with family.

As the holidays rush upon us, don’t become the Grinch who stole Christmas. Help bring peace on earth to your little corner of the world, no matter what.

[Show #123]

Twas the Night

Backstory – ‘Twas the Night

Surely you know the traditional Christmas poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas, written by Clement Clarke Moore in 1822. My version acknowledges the tens of thousands of grandparents who find themselves raising grandchildren. Safe to say that few expected to spend retirement years caring for young’uns. This poem is a loving Christmas salute to them all.

Consider This Show – ‘Twas the Night

Click to listen or follow below to read.

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house,
The sound of kids laughing reached the wife and her spouse.

These folks, in their sixties, that is apparent,
Did not expect filling their days as a parent.

But fate somehow chose them, to do it again,
One child or more, badly needing a friend.

They didn’t expect, at retirement age,
To be moms and dads, and not turning the page.

But children need love and attention galore,
And there they were standing, right at their front door.

So, here’s to the grandmas still braiding young hair,
And learning of Sponge Bob with pants that are square.

And grandpas at soccer and football and such,
Your love and devotion are meaning so much.

The kids keep you whirling around and about,
By day’s end, you’re sometimes completely worn out.

You’ve learned about iPods and lap tops and cell phones,
American Idol, the GaGa and ring tones.

You’ve put in your time at the pool and the park,
And soothed little people afraid of the dark.

Here’s wishing you strength in these rushed, busy days,
When hours rush by in a holiday haze.

Santa may bring you some sleep as your gift,
Along with the toys that you sort, wrap and lift.

He’s seen all your efforts through these many days,
He said God has seen too and sends you His praise.

And I heard him exclaim, as he drove out of sight,
Granny and Papa, now have a good night.

[Show #255]

Gifts to Strangers

Most of us look forward to being with family and friends on Christmas Day. You’ll hear folks talking for weeks ahead of time about how they will spend the day.

But there are those whose Christmas day will be a repeat of a normal work day. They have pulled the holiday shift and they’ll be away from loved ones on that special day.

If you interact with someone on the job on Christmas Eve or Christmas day, you can help make their holiday a little brighter. Share holiday cheer with them – no matter what the circumstance.

My mom used to wrap up a dozen or so gifts of a few homemade cookies and take them with her, if she was traveling on a holiday. She’d pass them on to the toll taker on the highway or the counter clerk at the airport or the taxi driver.

Even if you don’t do presents, you can give the gift of your patience and your smile; especially if you’re in a situation that has others upset – like delays at the airport or cold weather traffic conditions. It’s so easy to become dour when our holiday plans go awry. You want to blame someone or take it out on somebody.

When that moods starts to devour you, remember that you have a choice. It’s not the circumstance that decides your mood; you decide. You can choose to be angry and battered or you can be happy throughout the incident, whatever it is.

So as the holidays rush upon us, don’t give in to becoming the Grinch who stole Christmas. Help bring peace on earth to your little corner of the world, no matter what. Merry Christmas.

[Show #512]

Christmas After Katrina And Sandy

After the tragedy of Katrina, we sent a gift to friends who lost everything and wound up living in a 16-foot FEMA trailer. Among the gifts was a garland of tiny wooden Santas for them to hang around the trailer door. There was no room for any other festive stuff.

Turns out the garland was an exact replica of one they had…one that got washed away with the flood waters. It became a tiny reminder that Christmas stuff may get washed away, but happy Christmas memories are with us forever.

Then came Super Storm Sandy, again washing away homes and memories and leaving locals at the mercy of strangers’ generosity for the holidays. Again, Americans from all over the country opened their hearts and their pocket books to help.

Those friends wiped out by Katrina? They finally left the trailer – after getting to know each other REALLY well in those tight quarters. They rebuilt their lives and are doing OK. They are together, they’re happy and they wrote that they hung the Santa garland again this year to remind each other that things could be worse and they do get better.

The folks devastated by Sandy will do the same thing. Life will go on, and before they know it, Christmas will be here, yet again.

Maybe this time, they’ll have the chance to help someone else in need.

It’s what we Americans do.

Show #464

No Christmas Tree This Year

This year is the first time we are going to have no Christmas tree.

We planned to leave our home up north just before Christmas to spend the winter in Florida. So why bother dragging out all those ornaments and lights and stuff. So much easier this way.

Of course I did love looking at the sparkling angel that topped the tree. A gift one year long ago from a dear friend no longer with us.

After the holiday last year, I packed the Christmas ornaments into boxes, labeled with the names of each of my kids and grandkids. I included in each, a list of who made each ornament, or why it was purchased or who had gifted it…even how it was found at a yard sale or a craft sale. Opening each of those boxes this year would have brought back so many happy, sometimes distant memories.

Well, I can just remember it all this year without all the fuss. No tree. No trouble. Make sense. Who needs it.

The lights flickering different colors on the branches…The tree skirt made by my sister surrounding the base and then barely visible, for the gaily wrapped gifts that cover it.

On the other hand, it IS only once a year. And we WILL be here for most of December. Ah shucks, we can do without a tree NEXT year. For this year, bring it on.

Christmas, I am yours!

[Show #469]