and i am not going to write about consumerism, or church and state issues in sonoma, or anything like that. there's enough people yelling about that these days, and i am not in the mood for a shouting match.
it's just a day, really. and we have all our funny traditions about it, decorated trees and silly hats and semi-obligatory presents, and all that. and so significant to so many people! so interesting. we've melded our very american pagan with our very american christianity, added several hundred years, and look what we've got. a giant franchise of a holiday that's mostly about staying inside and making a fire because it's cold out.
but it did a lot for me, this year. a lot. because, with all our disagreements and no real ability to reconcile them, it got my family to sit around and get each other presents (or promises of such) and drink egg nog and eat cookies and just be happy for a day or two. and even if we can't totally accept each other, and even if we can't agree to disagree in anyone's head but mine, we can sit at a table. and we can listen to obnoxious christmas music and i can be coerced into breaking out the violin, and it can feel like nothing's changed. an unfamiliar feeling these days, in this place.
i don't know where i'm going with this. it's just really, really nice. and weird, and probably short-lived, but nice. so happy christmas, and happy whatever else you celebrate, and if you don't celebrate anything then just have a really, really, really good day.
it really is a wonderful life. put some rum in your egg nog and enjoy it.
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