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'Tis The Season'
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'Tis The Season' This post is only viewable by Affairlook members. Join Affairlook now! |
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I hear what you are saying and I can say I understand. I'm run off my feet at work during this holiday season and people stop being 'nice.' The lull that comes after the holidays have ended is ALWAYS a welcome one. My children are still (mostly) young enough to be around. I got a taste of what it would be like waking up to nothingness. Christmas morning, a couple of years ago, my children spent Christmas Eve with my ex. I think I woke up, realized that I was home alone and cried myself back to sleep. I don't look forward to the next time it happens...
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Amen! I worked in retail most of my life. And retail completely killed pretty much most good feelings that holidays once held for me. I am no spring chicken, and can remember when it wouldn't even have been dreamed to have anything Christmas related before Thanksgiving. Now, we see *any* kind of holiday ... and pardon me, but I am SO into the Scrooge aspect you described as well... crap months before the actual holiday (ANY holiday, but Christmas is one of the worst). And now? There are even radio stations whose play lists consist solely Christmas music - which started here in SE Florida around Halloween. Add to the over-commercialization is the PUSH of people in stores, on the roads, etc. who have NO consideration for anyone else but themselves. The only spirit mostly shown is one of selfishness, greed, and ill will toward all. And the language they can spew at others, especially the elderly (with whom they so rudely express their frustrations with their lack of speed, understanding of modern stuff, writing checks, etc), that's displayed is astounding. I am more and more dismayed and disheartened each year. But... there's one VERY happy memory they can't take from me - one that fills my heart with joy and love every year. The sound of the Salvation Army bell. My heart still skips and a smile still beams on my face each time I hear it. And sometimes, and yes I will admit it... on some of my most difficult days, I shed tears... when I hear it. That bell signals years past in Michigan... with the snow gently falling, happy faces of people who have found "just the perfect thing" (can you believe it? actual gratitude??), my father taking us shopping, the cold night air... and the Salvation Army outside the mall - ringing away. I also borrow from Robert Fulgum's remembrances of the Salvation Army from his writings. And I remember how flipping good I feel giving at the time of year most people are expecting to get. And today, I give each time I see someone with their bucket, thank them for being there, feel my heart swell and happiness come back to my cynical self, and enjoy the rest of my day. It's a hug for the soul from deep in my past. Silly as that may sound...lol Hope you still have some warm memories to toast a cold outlook on a winter's night. 
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Amen! I worked in retail most of my life. And retail completely killed pretty much most good feelings that holidays once held for me. I am no spring chicken, and can remember when it wouldn't even have been dreamed to have anything Christmas related before Thanksgiving. Now, we see *any* kind of holiday ... and pardon me, but I am SO into the Scrooge aspect you described as well... crap months before the actual holiday (ANY holiday, but Christmas is one of the worst). And now? There are even radio stations whose play lists consist solely Christmas music - which started here in SE Florida around Halloween. Add to the over-commercialization is the PUSH of people in stores, on the roads, etc. who have NO consideration for anyone else but themselves. The only spirit mostly shown is one of selfishness, greed, and ill will toward all. And the language they can spew at others, especially the elderly (with whom they so rudely express their frustrations with their lack of speed, understanding of modern stuff, writing checks, etc), that's displayed is astounding. I am more and more dismayed and disheartened each year. But... there's one VERY happy memory they can't take from me - one that fills my heart with joy and love every year. The sound of the Salvation Army bell. My heart still skips and a smile still beams on my face each time I hear it. And sometimes, and yes I will admit it... on some of my most difficult days, I shed tears... when I hear it. That bell signals years past in Michigan... with the snow gently falling, happy faces of people who have found "just the perfect thing" (can you believe it? actual gratitude??), my father taking us shopping, the cold night air... and the Salvation Army outside the mall - ringing away. I also borrow from Robert Fulgum's remembrances of the Salvation Army from his writings. And I remember how flipping good I feel giving at the time of year most people are expecting to get. And today, I give each time I see someone with their bucket, thank them for being there, feel my heart swell and happiness come back to my cynical self, and enjoy the rest of my day. It's a hug for the soul from deep in my past. Silly as that may sound...lol Hope you still have some warm memories to toast a cold outlook on a winter's night.
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