Board Thread:Fun and Games/@comment-35175794-20181101162505/@comment-35379880-20181113164535

Crystal, it is more than okay. There are seasons in some of our lives when anger is the only emotion we can safely access. As far as decorations go, I hate doing them. I don’t mind the putting up, but taking down is a whole other story so I would just as soon not! One year we strung lights on a tumbleweed that I had hauled into the house because that was the best I could do and my children were still young. It was beautiful, but the aftermath was horrible. I ended up throwing out the whole thing, lights included. I like sketching a tree outline on a piece of poster board and letting the grands ‘decorate’ it however they want. I tack it on the wall. I’ve got a tree up, they have fun helping, they see their artwork posted, and when Christmas is over away it goes. The decorations and gifts aren’t supposed to be our focus during the holidays. We have movie and tv Ideas and glorified memories in our heads that are hard for reality to match. Because we love our families so deeply, they are able to hurt us in ways others cannot. I frequently rake myself over the coals with ‘what ifs’ and it doesn’t change circumstances, just makes me miserable. As Alana says, don’t give up. Even in the worst circumstances there can still be joy and the bits of happiness will get you through this time. Seek out the real Christmas, not the hype.