Does anyone else have mixed feelings about the holiday season?
My aunt shared an article the other day about the death of family gatherings — cue the guilt.
This will be the third Christmas in a row that I don’t go home.
My excuses include road conditions, cost of flights and lack of time off. But, at the end of the day they boil down to just that, excuses.
Is family not more important than that? Is my job not more important? Is my life not more important?
The conversation just goes in circles.
I put up my Christmas decorations a week or so ago, and despite purchasing them years ago and reusing them consistently, the amount of plastic made me cringe.
Pair that with the consumerism that surrounds this season, and I can’t help but think about how unsustainable it is.
But I could get a Christmas tree in a pot and have it in my house all year.
And we can use LED lights and still bring the holiday magic and not over-use energy.
It seems there are ways to enjoy the holiday cheer without all the waste.
This time of year is also busy at work. We have to create content for two newspapers the week of Dec. 16 to 20.
Pair that with people being difficult to get a hold of this time of year with the after-hours events that make for good photos and it can be tiring and stressful.
On the other hand, I get to go to all of the cute holiday events for work and can’t help but absorb some Christmas cheer.
The holiday season can be a struggle. It seems the divide between haves and have-nots is even more apparent this time of year.
It is easy to be lonely when you see others getting together and you have no one. It can be easy to feel inadequate when others are giving expensive gifts while you don’t have the extra money to do the same.
So I encourage everyone to give back to the community instead of giving more toys, or to open their homes to friends and neighbours.
Somewhere along the way it became the season of giving “things.” Maybe we should be getting back to it being the season of community, joy and love.
Can you say mixed feelings? I should probably refocus this energy into shortbread cookies.
Jocelyn Doll is the editor of the Revelstoke Review.
