Christmas Blues
Dear Frankie,
I don’t know if I can go through another Christmas Season with my family.
Every year there’s some crisis. At first, I thought it was just my family. But when I spoke to my friends at the dog park, they commented on how difficult the holidays had been some years for their families.
This year, my dad is upset because his daughter from his first marriage has decided to spend the holiday with her mother. My sister is berserk because she wasn’t invited by the guy she likes to the Christmas Gala. And my brother trashes Christmas because he thinks it’s over-commercialized and has lost its true meaning. My mom is tired of the drama and is threatening to go on a retreat and leave the family to figure it out by themselves.
If past years can predict what this Christmas will be like, my family will have a bountiful meal, open their presents, and act like the weeks before never happened. Why do they do this every year?
Jasper
Dear Jasper,
For months before the holidays, your family has been bombarded by the media with Christmas music, glorified family gatherings, the latest gadgets, jewelry, and fashion for holiday gifts, romantic couples sitting before a warm fire, and a lit Christmas tree, sipping champagne, etc. The underlying message is Christmas is a time of joy, love, and sharing.
The humans get swept up by these messages, and each in their own way become disappointed that their desired holiday will not be the one they’ll be getting. I have noticed that the humans have many expectations of how things should be.
If I were you, I would keep a low profile until the big day comes and then enjoy those presents coming your way like the rest of them.
Best, Frankie
© 2022 Geneva Woodruff
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