Uh, Oh Here Come... The Holidays (Scary Music)

Dear All,

I have a love hate-thing with the holiday season. There is a seasonal-affective component to my Depression, meaning when the days get short I am SAD, sad, sad. My family is not a great, big happy one, either, so that adds to it. Still- up until Christmas and Hanukkah, things are buzzing. People are out and about, doing things, y'know getting things done. Out. It's great. So there's at least something on the happy end of the teeter totter.

The best holiday I remember was Thanksgiving 1977. There was an incredible snow storm that year. The snow banks were higher than I was. We had sixteen people here from all over the U.S.: my God-fearing relatives from Michigan, my grandmother, aunt and uncle from downstate, my relatives from Georgia and Connecticut. I was the only kid, but that was O.K., I was used to that. It was just nice having company. There were several card games going on, a ton of food, and about five cooks in the kitchen. Everything was delicious and looked really nice.

And then it was over and everyone went home. For me that is when the Depression hits hard. It hits every year just after the last holiday we celebrate. The days are still short, I am exhausted and the fun is over. So, last year I decided I would try something new. Instead of doing a lot of work all at once, I would do a little bit each day. I discovered that I could enjoy the day without being exhausted, and the next day didn't seem so bad because that sense of "it's all over" was gone.

This year I am helping my friend do a traditional American Thanksgiving. Then I'll do an "echo" celebration for my students after the holiday. This way we can use up the tons of extra food that are likely to be around. I am very much looking forward to this arrangement. I don't know that I started quite early enough this year, but I think that it will be O.K.

My mother told me once that she would eat the food that she prepared and it would have no flavor. She would look at the decorations and they would seem flat. I thoroughly intend to enjoy these days and their preparation: my friends, their house, their company, and later my guests. Life is hard enough this time of year without something to anticipate.

Sincerely,
Betsy