Bring on the sappy shows and the Christmas music
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KAMLOOPS — My apologies to the Armchair Mayor, but the more sappy Christmas shows there are, and the sooner we start the Christmas music, the better I feel. My wife calls me her Christmas elf. Her eyes are getting bad, I guess. But Christmas has always been huge in our family. Always.
Growing up, we were far from poor, but money wasn’t flowing off the trees in northern B.C. As the kids were growing up, there were times when we really had to portion things out, penny by penny. One year, we wondered where all the toilet paper had gone out of the bathroom. We found out Christmas Day. My daughter had wrapped up all the rolls individually, so we would have more presents under the tree. She knew it was tight, and she wanted to make us happy. And happiness is what the season has always been about. It certainly isn’t the presents or the shopping. It’s about the sappy Christmas shows. It’s about hearing Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin singing the same songs over and over again from mid-November to mid-January. It’s the sense of community spirit.
I realize that the commercialization of Christmas has spoiled things for a lot of people. And I get the jaded feelings of some who feel we’ve gone overboard. And in some ways we certainly have. I get that some people are concerned that their kids haven’t got much under the tree, but that’s not the spirit of what it’s about. It’s about giving to those more vulnerable, it’s about enjoying the family together, whether in person or in spirit. It’s reflecting on the good things that have happened.
The first Christmas after our son passed away, we decided originally not to decorate much. It was a tough time. But decorating, and remembering all the laughs we had together, his love of the season, his talent, and all the good things he brought us, was the best decision we could have made. Yep, it’s a tough time for many. But to me, it’s about the attitude. And like everything else in life, it is what you make of it.
