I’m going to be brutally honest with y’all.
I haven’t been motivated to decorate for the holidays this year.
I’m not sure why.
I’m not sure if it’s because it’s 65 and sunny outside, when it’s usually chilly this time of year.
I’m not sure if it’s that we’ve had so much going on lately, it’s nice to have the house clean and uncluttered.
I’m not sure if it’s that there seems to be a general overtone of people not being nice to each other lately, which has been really getting to me and seems downright un-Christmasy.
I honestly don’t know.
And then, it happened.
Today I was at the market, standing at the deli case, waiting for my cold cuts. I go to the market twice a week (at least) and get cold cuts. And I’m constantly baffled by the people who walk up to the nice people who work there and say, “Give me X.” or “I need X.”
What happened to “please” and “thank you”? Those words apply to everyone, perhaps most especially to the nice people behind the counter who slice turkey all day.
So today, I’m there, and I notice a woman sort of behind me and off to the side. I step back and say, “I’m sorry. Am I in your way? I’ve been helped already.”
She smiles and says, “Honey, you are not in anyone’s way. God put us all here on this earth so we all belong here, wherever we stand. Also, you look beautiful – I love your haircut.”
Then she proceeded to tell me about how she’s a hospice nurse and she just took care of her 67-year-old friend who died of breast cancer. She said, “All the stuff in the world – whether turkey, masters degrees, whatever – it doesn’t matter, because you can’t take it with you. People are what matters. And there’s space for all of us.”
And, with that, it became Christmastime.
A "recovering lawyer," I turned in my power suits for power tools and a life of DIY. I believe in merging old and new to make a house a home.
Oh my gosh Karen! This makes me tear up a little. Someone else was mentioning how they didn’t want their Christmas house tour to go live on their blog because it wasn’t ‘up to snuff’ with the other bloggers who have perfect houses and it really got me thinking about the whole motivation and meaning behind submerging yourself in “all things Christmas”. What does it really mean? Where has the spirit of it gone?
I miss “the most wonderful time of the year’ when as the holidays approached people were so much nicer and kinder and it was about giving. Everyone now seems so stressed and angry and obsessed with what christmas LOOKS like.. not what it FEELS like.
<3
Oh my gosh Karen! This makes me tear up a little. Someone else was mentioning how they didn’t want their Christmas house tour to go live on their blog because it wasn’t ‘up to snuff’ with the other bloggers who have perfect houses and it really got me thinking about the whole motivation and meaning behind submerging yourself in “all things Christmas”. What does it really mean? Where has the spirit of it gone?
I miss “the most wonderful time of the year’ when as the holidays approached people were so much nicer and kinder and it was about giving. Everyone now seems so stressed and angry and obsessed with what christmas LOOKS like.. not what it FEELS like.
<3
Thank you. It’s true – the feelings of the season seem to be lost this year. This was one small gesture by someone I’ve never met before who had no idea she would make such a big impact on me at that moment. Hopefully we can all come around to finding the Christmas feelings and spirit again.
Thank you! Your post has jout made my christmas a little brighter
Aw, thank you Barbara! I’m so glad. Merry, merry Christmas to you!!
What a great reminder to all of us to “simmer down” as my grandmother often said! Especially needed this time of year when it is easy to get caught up in all the hub bub. I’ve been poking along getting my Christmas decorations out a little at a time. Tuesday night, 3 girlfriends came over with hors d’oeuvres to share for our annual Christmas ornament making get together. Standing in my kitchen, one friend asked with disappointment in her voice, “What? No snowmen this year?” looking at the window sill above my sink. Oh, they’ll be there this weekend, I just don’t have them out yet. “Oh good,” she replied, “You had me worried.” Now, I get much pleasure in having my snowman collection out through the winter months, but to hear that someone else, besides family, looked forward to seeing them brought a new outlook to me. It was nice to know that others get pleasure in seeing my Christmas “stuff” too! Especially a friend who has added to it!
I love that story! So cool! It’s nice to know that it’s not just you who enjoys the decorations! Friends and family love and appreciate them, too!