A Christmas Story
I don’t really like Christmas.
This may come as a surprise to those familiar with my “joy to the world” attitude and to those who know that when I say “Jesus is my homeboy” I mean it. But for quite some time the Christmas season has been one of my least favorite times of the year (second only to tax season.)
I can trace these feelings back to my childhood. When I was growing up my parents struggled financially so I knew I would never find the latest and greatest in toys, electronics and fashion waiting for me beneath our tiny tree. Fortunately, I was mature enough as a kid to recognize that my parents worked hard and did their best and I was always grateful for the gifts they gave and, most important, their love. However, this maturity was not strong enough to fight off the feelings of jealousy and inadequacy that would simmer when my friends bragged about their lavish gifts.
By my teenage years I’d learned that Christmas should really be about family and faith and my bouts of gift envy subsided. Unfortunately, this was also around the time my parents would without fail fight about something each and every Christmas. From what neighborhood we’d drive around to look at Christmas lights to which grandmother we’d visit first they always found something to turn into the argument of the year. So once again Christmas was a day of disappointment.
Then I met my husband.
Yes, he spoils me rotten. This year, for example, he told me I deserved 12 days of Christmas, not just one, and has been surprising me with gifts since December 14, including the latest albums by Joss Stone and Norah Jones and that Hello Kitty robe I’d been coveting. Edward has restored my love for the holiday season however, not by simply buying me stuff. (I’m not that shallow, people!)
He has expelled my down-with-Christmas attitude by helping me remember that despite the family fights and the fact that I never got those British Knights, I have many great holiday memories to outweigh the bad ones — from listening to my dad sing The Temptations’ rendition of “Silent Night” to sitting with my brother eating holiday Reese’s cups until our stomachs ache (both of which I still do now).
Best of all, Edward and I are creating Christmas traditions of our own, such as listening to our special Christmas mixtape (which features tracks by artists ranging from Nat King Cole to TLC) while we decorate our apartment.
Now that I’m living in Birmingham again I have the opportunity to enjoy this season basking in the love and traditions that I share with my family and with my husband and celebrating the birth and life of Christ and because of that tomorrow will truly be a Merry Christmas.
Now if only someone could do something to improve tax time…
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