Christmas 2005 ~ Share your Best and Worst

[mantis]

a mixture of happy and sad moments
this is beyond me
i dont know how to comment
but i see the moral of the story is moving out of soCal will result in a happy xmas!! maybe i should try that
why did ya move?
come back, socal rocks

 

[Lisa]

I was 19. It was an empty year. I suppose that's the year I felt the importance of cultivating the heart and loving relationships. There was no magical stranger to make that one better, no family to ease the sting, no friends who wanted to have a depressed friend over. What a lonely year.

I would have taken you, in a new york minute

I remember my first xmas when my parents split. They split in the beginning of December, I was 16. It was hard to adjust too, very confusing time for me and very hard to get through the holidays, especially cause my mom was so happy about the split.

 

[Floating Egg]

mantis,

If someone gives me a gift, I gently remind them that I don't celebrate the holiday in question and look for alternatives to accepting the gift. I may even ask if it can be returned. If this fails, I inform the gift giver that I will open the present at a later date. Most people will adapt to you, but there are always exceptions. For those few, I recommend a good dose of empathy and if time permits, a thorough explanation.

Balanced reciprocity is so ingrained in our social politics that it can be damaging to relationships if you don't engage in some form of gift giving. In my particular case, I do give gifts, but not at specific holidays. This has its own set of problems attached to it, but it's manageable. Gift giving seems so simple to most of us, but it quickly reveals itself as a complex process once you start digging around.

 

[Jade Tigress]

Opal Dragon ~ That is hilarious! Thanks for shariing.

Shesulsa ~ Tough times and holidays make for tumultous emotions. I'm both sorry for your hardship and happy you experienced the kindness of others during that time. I'm sorry for the experience you went through with your dad.

Lisa ~ You too. *hugs* to you both.

Floating Egg and Mantis ~ Don't worry about receiving gifts at Christmas or reciprocating. If someone wants to give you a gift, just accept it, say thank you, open it and enjoy it. They gave you something because they wanted to. You don't have to celebrate Christmas to accept a gift and gift-giving is not about giving to receive so don't worry about reciprocating. It's about the giver, not the receiver. If you want to give something back then accept the gift graciously. I'm sure the giver would appreciate it.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

I've had a few REALLY good Christmases. The best was the Christmas of 1995 (10 years ago) the same year I moved from So. California to Portland, Oregon - no family, two friends, that's it.

1995 was my best Christmas as well! I was one step away from self-destruction (suicidal thoughts, etc). We had a family reuinion and I discovered painting and became an artist. Christmas 1995 was my rebirth as a person.

BTW, I think you are a very strong person who has learned much and grown from adversity.

 

[Ping898]

I actually had 2 best giffts, I got an mp3 player and my sister made me this beautiful afgan for my bed all in colors I like, so it is a tie....

I didn't really have any worst gifts this year, but if I had to pick it would be the cold my sister gave me or the cookbook my mom gave me in a futile attempt to stop me from calling home to ask how to make things.....:uhyeah: