Why do they have to be happy?

It's the time of the year when you hear the words "Happy Holidays" all over.  But why does everyone need to be happy?  Why is it the "Most Wonderful Time of the Year"?

I understand that we all want to celebrate, get together as families, spend time with loved ones.  I just wonder if we have to put the pressure on everyone to be "happy."  What defines happy, anyway?  Is it a joyous feeling in the heart?  Is it the feeling of peace with everyone we are around?  Is it sucking it up and spending time with family, even if it isn't who you want to be with?

Don't get me wrong...I am very happy with my family and friends.  I love this time of year.

But why do we have to put pressure on people who don't have the best of relationships with their family?  Why do we insist that it is a wonderful time of the year if there are people who are always reminded of loss at this time?  What about those who are away from their love because of circumstances?  I'm not talking about just the distance between two people in miles, I'm talking about the distance emotionally between two people who are sharing the same house, the same couch, or even the same bed.

Doesn't it seem cruel to insist on happiness at this time of year?  Some people can barely make it to compatible.  Others have no relationships they can even pretend to be happy about.  And if you can muster enough emotion at all, sometimes it is just enough to get through the day without wishing harm to someone who is standing next to you.

Then you have all the financial restraints of the "Holiday Season" to deal with.  The pressure to get something for everyone.  The requirement of gifting all the people who are a part of your life.  What happened to the times when the gift of time was the most important?  When giving someone your time was the most precious gift you could offer?  When showing kindness to a stranger was all that was ever expected?  When something you created with your hands and your heart were the greatest gifts anyone could receive?

Now it's bobbles and whatsits and trinkets to fill up the empty space that is within each of us.

I say we need to take back the season that is supposed to be wonderful.  Give graciously of yourself.  Make something, anything, and give it away.  Bake cookies with your kids and take them to your neighbors or to work with you for everyone to share.  Knit or crochet a scarf, or ten, and take them to a senior center or assisted living facility or even a shelter.  Make up coupons good for one hour of undivided attention and give them to your kids, then follow through and take that hour to devote solely to whatever they want to do, even if it is simply watching them play a silly video game and cheering them on.

Whatever you decide to do, do it wholeheartedly.  Don't skimp on these gifts, but make them count.  Who knows?  This may just become the most wonderful time of your year!!!

Sick

I really hate being sick, especially when there is nothing really wrong. I just don't feel well, and want to spend the day in bed. Unfortunately, I have to go to work. Good news, I am done with classes. Took the final last night, so that is out of the way (YEAH!!!). Now, tonight is going to be a go to bed early night, and maybe I will feel better in the morning.

Weather

Windy and stormy last night. Love nights like that. Haven't been writing much because I have a final to take tonight. After this, though, my nights are much more free, and I can spend them writing. Gonna be great to get back to that. I definitely need to do writing. Have to see where the changes are going to take my story. And the new techniques are really nice. Love to my writing group for their help in making my story come to life. Gonna get to it now.

OOPS!!!

Well I think I missed like a week here. Got to get back into the swing of it. Off to work the Seahawks game today, so won't get any writing done. I have gotten some done on my little project, but not much. It was quite the busy week. I think I need a vacation.

Early Mornings

I have decided that early mornings are not for me any more, at least not right now. I used to work early in the morning, be up at 2, and it was all good (going to bed at 6:00 pm helped that, though). Now, I can't seem to get my head around a 5:00 am wake up call. I think I am turning into a night owl, and I'm not sure I like it. Hopefully after my tax class is over I will be able to go to sleep at a more decent hour (yes, 9:00 pm would be a great time to go to bed for me). If I can, I might be able to handle the 5:00 or 5:30 am wake up, get the boy to school, then come home and have a couple of hours of productive writing time for my story. That is my goal, and if I can stick it out for the next month, I just might make it. For now, though, I like going back to bed after taking the child to school. Today's extra early rise is courtesy of my wonderful husband. He had an early day scheduled at work, and when he is up early, I get up early. Hope I can go back to sleep after I get back this morning, cause I really need the extra today. No productiveness this morning, at least not in the writing area.

Excitement is Building

Last night's writer's group was fantastic. Got some great ideas to "flesh out" my story. Going to work on it this week, hope to get a big chunk done so we can go over it and see how it works. Hope it doesn't change my story too much, but also want to make it a great story, so either way it will be fine. No working at lunch today, taking someone out for their birthday, and tonight is class, so I won't be working tonight, either. Hoping to be up tomorrow morning to get lots done on it before work. It's so exciting to look at the story in a different way, to see it from a different perspective. Can't wait!!!

Today's Writing

Today I had a good writing session at lunch. Got three pages written. Mind you they are hand written, and it is a smaller notebook, but it was still quite a bit. Gonna be interesting to see how this will change the story. I'll let you all know.