Tag
December 22, 2022
Handling Holiday Heartache Many have experienced this perplexing paradox: walking through glittering, cheerful holidays with a heart aching from a malady of flesh or soul. We try ignoring the pain of our reality. Stuffing down the ache. Striving to behave so others won’t see the implosion happening within. Attempting to unzip our hard like a heavy garment to hang in the corner, so we can get through to the other side without breaking under the weight. As if that were...
December 16, 2021
Hope in the Hard “There will be no Christmas card this year.” The decision declared wandering through a shop in October, shelves heaped with box upon box of colorful artwork, warm scenes, and warmer phrases. None of the greetings made sense sent from the center of our surreal, difficult journey these past months. Nope. Not. Doing. It. (When Covid Crashes Through Your Front Door: 1879) Turning to bolt for the door, searching for air to breathe, my eyes fell on a card...
December 17, 2020
What Movie are You Watching This Christmas? The Christmas movie reel. We all have one rolling in our minds. A dream of how we want Christmas to unfold. The video conjures up warm feelings of family harmony, traditions, togetherness. Where laughter sparkles and carols spill from happy hearts. Perfect gifts wrapped in perfect packages await perfect responses of delight. All while a gentle snow falls on a pristine landscape. But the reality of Christmas often presents a deep contrast as the film...
December 12, 2019
While many scramble to conquer the chaos, yet warm with excitement anticipating celebrations of the Christmas season, sometimes an opposite scenario befalls us. Life has dealt a blow and nothing is normal. The season drags by, filled with pain and loneliness. Uncertainty and dread are our companions. We hear no echo of laughter. Carols have lost their warmth and sparkling lights mock the darkness swirling around us. Numbness escorts us to gatherings. Fear replaces peace. Sorrow deadens joy. When all...
December 5, 2019
Ah, the holidays. We dream of a season filled with gentle snows, glittering lights, enticing smells, carols streaming, gifts wrapped with perfection, a flawless tree filled with memory-inducing ornaments, and hugs, smiles and laughter spilling over in endless traditions and activities. Ah, the holidays. Well. Shelf that Hallmark movie, because the reality often paints quite a different picture. Across the country, women are tasked with expectations and responsibilities that would turn any action-hero into a blubbering wimp: Pinterest-laden projects, tradition-building...