Tis the Season

Apparently I'm just going to be posting on holidays. However, there are many obscure holidays all throughout the year so hopefully that means I'll be posting more often. It will be a game to see which holidays we can celebrate with blog posts.

Happy Christmas! I was unable to send out individualized Christmas cards this year as I've been trying to do, so I'm writing a Christmas blog instead! I had one beautiful gift under the tree (thanks Dad and Mary!) and no plans for the rest of the day except to listen to the "Nightmare Before Christmas" soundtrack and eat lots of chocolate.
I went to the United Church of Christ this morning for services, but as I was driving there I realized there were NO cars outside any of the churches in town. Perhaps they had early morning services or something and were spending the rest of the day at home with their families. I got to the United church and there were cars there, so I went inside and they had already had their service and were just finishing up a potluck breakfast. I awkwardly joined them, but they were very kind and I enjoyed spending a bit of time with them. Maybe I'll go back sometime.

It really doesn't feel like Christmas. I'm not with family, though I did just get to see some of them this month, which was fantastic. This morning I was all mopey because I am not spending Christmas with family but now I feel better. I watched "The Nutcracker" designed by Maurice Sendak which was amazing and lifted my mood. My roommate Lorayne invited me to spend some time with her family today and I might later but probably not. It is very nice of her to think of me, but somehow I think it's worse to spend holidays with someone else's family, particularly if you don't know them very well. It would just remind me I'm not with my family. But at home I can just relax and be myself.

It's not snowing, which is actually fine by me. Today was positively warm. And although we have a tree and everything downtown is lighted up, I haven't done much of anything festive-y. I did go to a caroling/winter solstice potluck dinner thing in the mobile home park where I live now. It was actually a lot of fun. We sang carols and moved from house to house for the different courses of dinner. The community here in the park is really nice and they were really open and welcoming. Rayne called me a "party animal" afterwards, which is something I have never been called before and makes me feel odd. I have no idea what prompted it. I didn't drink with everyone. I did have a good time talking and caroling and joking, but I wasn't crazy. At least I didn't think so.

But the point is, I watched both "The Muppet Christmas Carol" and the John Denver and the Muppets Christmas Special yesterday, and they both had some wonderful messages. I was reminded that although I'm not with my family today, as Kermit the Frog says, "Christmas is the one time of year where everyone seems to be a part of everyone's family." So whomever I spend time with today is family. And while the giving of gifts is a wonderful tradition, it's also a good tradition to just spend time with one another and tell people you love them. And as the Ghost of Christmas Present sings, "wherever you find love it feels like Christmas" and "the message is to make it last all year." And so Christmas day, while it's nice to spend with family and friends, is just another day to be grateful for the love I feel from those people. So pity me not, dear ones! Have a very Merry Christmas, and know I'm thinking of you and I love you very much!