i am not a scrooge- i know what the meaning behind the 'holiday season' is. anyone who reads anything i write on a regular basis knows how i feel about the christian bigotry in america- especially around their 'christmas.' but that's not what my musing is about this time- no, although i could tie it all together nicely i am sure :)
i have been talking to many of my blog buddies and 'real life' buddies about the holiday- and what i hear often- 'cmas is supposed to be about _____, but it isn't anymore'- and i guess i wonder why not? if we aren't happy with the way things are, why do we suppose that others are? why do we suppose that we have to continue in the same vein in order to keep folks happy- who probably feel the same way we do? and why are we so afraid to talk about this with people we are allegedly close to? it baffles me.
family is family- we should be able to put our ideas and feelings and thoughts out there safely- and if we can't- why are we 'celebrating' with these kind of toxic folks in the first place? we pick our friends- so if we can't have that conversation with them openly- why are they still our friends?
this is the last season we are going to have a 'traditional' cmas. the only reason we have any trappings of the 'traditions' i grew up with- we still enjoy them. the food, the drinks, the games, the small gifts, the decorations, the music- right at this moment we like them enough to keep them. we have scaled back though- and i know that next year- i won't be baking enough to send to people because i don't enjoy it enough to do it anymore. next year, i won't be doing many cards- because i don't enjoy it anymore. but we have had conversations with our friends and family. this is the last year we will do a gift exchange with my friend and her kids- because they will be grown and adults. i won't be making the journey to her home an hour away because quite frankly, we haven't enjoyed that for years. not so much because of her and the kids- but her extended family. i want to appreciate what our ancient forbears celebrated at this time of year- life, and getting through the dark days of winter. i want that stark simplicity and lack of complication that we seem determined to layer onto everything we do in modern life.
i have a feeling i will always like the food though :)
