‘Tis The Season To Be Jolly!
Who are we kidding?
I have always maintained a “Scrooge-like” mentality ever since I discovered the raging money machine behind “the most wonderful time of the year” and how it entraps the guilty conscience and gluttonous traits of targeted populations who fall for the trickery every single time.
But once a global pandemic hit without warning and ballooned into one of the deadliest episodes of our lifetime, I began to soften up and take the blessings of family and dependable friends very seriously with the awareness of how it can all disappear in a blink of an eye.
So just as I did last year, this holiday season I’m going out of my way to reject the instincts of being the bonafide buzzkill at festive gatherings and instead revel in the cheeriness of almost making it through another harrowing 12 months of a bumpy rollercoaster ride.
The heightened push from thirsty retailers begins weeks in advance and the showcase delivers the messaging dripping in the urgency of the moment to spend all you have to please everyone but yourself.
But the winding down to New Year’s Eve seems to get bloodier with each passing year as blaring headlines and graphic images cause daily distress and frightening reminders of how we can’t take the precious gift of life for granted.
