Stephen Bleile

Ah Christmas.  The great three part holiday. The birthday of Jesus OR the reason for what I now understand is increasingly known as “Winter Holidays.” OR the time when Santa masquerades around the planet on his sleigh.  Judging by the songs out there I’d say the popular sentiment rest in option 1 or 3.  The beauty is you get to pick.

Regardless of your choice I invite you to join me here for my 12 days of Christmas.

At first I was going to call this series “Christmas Can be Sad.”

Why such a morbid title?  Well, because it’s true.  And at the time of the year when maybe a few things seem a little ,well, false  – I thought a little truth might be welcome.

“Expectations are premeditated resentments.” At least that’s what they say.   That’s why Christmas can be so hard.  We have expectations that the songs will be true.  That we’ll deck the halls while walking in a winter wonderland as the jingle bells of sleighs filled with laughing children go by.  The songs tells us that we should be eating chestnuts by the open fire and that if we listen carefully we ought to hear some angels singing. (“Hark! Do you hear what I hear??”  We would ask perplexed as love and peace swam over our souls and angelic hosts lit up the well worn highway between here and wherever you’re trying to get.)

These things, by and large, do NOT happen. (That’s why I wrote my own 12 day count down to Christmas.)

More often than not cars slug bumper to bumper down icy roads in a 9 round battle to get to work, to make the money required to spend at the mall; which requires more driving  -all to jostle our way through the throng of panic stricken shoppers looking for the perfect gift, or at least the one that says “I tried” or at very least the one that says, “You gave me something so now I have to give you something.” <deep breath> <sigh>

What about family?  Well, that’s the ultimate bee hive of expectations that buzz around our brains as we buzz around the living rooms of those people who know us, love us, and annoy us the most.

It’s not that expectations are all bad, either.  It’s quite reasonable to want to feel loved, for example.

While it can be sad Christmas can also be a joyous time full of laughing, funning, gaming, and rejoicing. That’s why I can’t call this 12 day series my original title.  I don’t want to focus on the bad.

BUT FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO KNOW SOME OF YOUR EXPECTATIONS WON’T BE MET I INVITE YOU TO JOIN ME THESE 12 DAYS TO CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN.  IT’LL BE FUN, BUT IT WON’T BE FAKE. Maybe read this blog when you feel anything but rested (ye merry gentlemen.) OR when it becomes clear that Santa is NOT coming to town due to poor weather conditions. (I’d like to do my part to keep the alarmingly high number of people who go to the hospital during this season due to stress related break downs.)

We’ll look at what makes people do what they do, reflect on the best buys at the mall, South Park’s take on the season, perhaps if you’re bold you’ll share your story here.  AND with any luck we can get through the holiday together.

Sit back and enjoy.

See you tomorrow.

sb