This Week Is The Beginning of Our Holiday Season

I'm going to be finishing my cards over the next two mornings, and beginning to bring my equipment back from the shop to my house. I hope to spend Thursday roasting my turkey and printing out holiday card envelopes while watching football. On Friday we jump into our annual Two-Day sale and that starts our holiday season. I'll be putting up our garlands at the shop on Tuesday, and DH will have to decorate the store tree with our remaining ornaments on Wednesday. (I refuse to decorate any Christmas trees.) 

My holiday job at the shop (aside from composing and 
sending our various e-flyers to our customers) is to 
hang our tinsel garland along the tops of our bookcases 
and display areas. I'll be very happy when I never have 
to do this again. 

But none of us are really in a holiday mood. I haven't found anything wonderful for DH for either Christmas or his birthday (both of which are in late December), and I hate letting him down. I'll keep looking, of course, and I do have a few ideas, but I really have to get moving on those. I have a month, approximately, and that's not a lot of time. 

It's been a year of broken dreams. Even if 
I've allowed myself to expand in some ways, 
I've retreated in others. I miss hugging people 
a lot. Waving at them from behind barriers and 
a mask just doesn't make up for the personal touch. 

It's hard to get into a holiday mood in the "Year of Broken Dreams", which is how I think of this year of masks, fear and The Virus. I'm not seeing happiness and joy at the upcoming holidays, I'm seeing people at the edge of their patience with the combination of COVID and a contentious and horrible election. Frankly, I think we're all fed up with this year, and the celebrations for New Year's should be epic because we all want a do-over. 

I think getting a do-over for 2020 would be on everyone's 
holiday gift list, but it's impossible to gift this one. It 
doesn't stop me wishing that this year had been other 
than the terror-stricken and grief-filled year of angst that 
it actually has been. Maybe we can finish the year in 
a slightly more relaxed way, but only if we stay 
vigilant. 

So, as I finalize my Holiday cards, I think of everyone they are being sent to and hoping that our upcoming holiday season and solstice will be the beginning of some wonderful things over the next year. As always, please be kind, stay safe and wear your masks. I'll be back tomorrow.