.......................

[4nana]

Nice post and so true.

Off topic, but I love the pics of your family. The one with the grandkids all linked together is really cute!

Thx bunches, you are always so sweet to your Dis friends!

BIG {{hugs}} to everyone for brighter tomorrows.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Okay....Let's find a little Christmas cheer. Find your favorite Christmas movies...comedies would be best. Laugh!!! Make cookies and hot chocolate....sting popcorn for the tree. Wear the silliest Christmas sweater you can find.

I know it's not easy...I've been there. It's hard to remember how many blessings we have when we are sad....but, don't give up!!! to all and Merry Christmas.

 

[Nohal]

Having a hard time getting into the spirit also. MIL passed in May and we are still feeling her loss. She usually came and spent Christmas Eve night with us and was here Christmas morning when we opened our gifts. Tree is up but undecorated. Trying to get the rest of the decorations up. My kids are grown and don't really want or need anything so the joy of shopping for them is gone. I'm trying to get decorated because then maybe I'll get into the spirit.

 

[bettyann29]

Hugs to everyone here that is experiencing somewhat the same thing

I too am struggling this year.. My dad is in poor health, as is my grandmother (moms mom) and my heart is just pulling so many ways this year.. I dont know what I would ever do without my dad, but as each day passes I cant keep thinking he wont be with us much longer.. things arent always looking up.. My grandmother doesnt know who any of the family is much anymore, not even my mom and I know this is very hard for her..

My kids will not be with me this Christmas as they are going out of state with their dad to spend the holidays with his family as this is possibly the last christmas for his aunt, so they will be gone and then going snow skiing for a few days while gone.. This is my first Christmas ever without them.. oldest DD is 17.. so Im kinda down about this, but I know its something they need to do..

I normally have my tree up and decorations up and most of my shopping done, but so far no tree and no decorations.. I have at least done some shopping..

If I could wish for anything, it wouldnt be any material.. I just want Christmas back the way it used to be.. Growing up, my parents never had much money, but we always had the best Christmas'.. Thats what I want..

 

[C.Ann]

This morning my son-in-law helped me go through all of my baking supplies (he brought my lap top out in the kitchen and listed the items for me so I could print it out and compare it to the cookies my DGD wants to bake).. Talked to DGD and she's okay with a bunch of the basically "pre-made" cookies (Pillsbury and such) and we'll do just two or three kinds from scratch.. We looked at the calendar together and she decided on the weekend before Christmas.. Her reasoning? "That way they won't get stale - and Grandpa won't eat them all before Christmas!!!! Smart kid.. He's here every single morning and it's next to impossible to keep him out of the goodies..

Still no decorations (or tree up) - but at least I feel like I'm making some kind of progress..

How about the rest of you? How is it going?

 

[Mermaid02]

I decided that we were going to concentrate more on spending family time and less on "stuff" this year. Today my Mom and I took my 11 year old son to the Planetarium ($3 per person) for a fabulous and educational program on the winter sky and how it ties into many of our holiday traditions. We are going to see the Nutcracker the weekend before Christmas.

I have my son all bought for- cut WAY back this year, but I know he will LOVE the things we have gotten him. DH and I arent' buying for each other- I had my wedding band fixed and he is getting a new one, as he recently lost his. My dd is easy to get for.

Next weekend I will be baking cookies and making candies.... and wrapping.

 

[NoeyLane]

Hi everyone! to all who are experiencing the doldrums of the holidays this year and all the reasons behind them.

Today I went shopping with my best friend. It felt good to get out and do something that we haven't been able to do for a very long time - just busy with the regular happenings of family life with small kids. Managed to get some Christmas shopping done, and my DH surprised me with putting up the Christmas tree & lights today too!

There were moments today when I thought about my dear grandmother, and I got a little sad....but getting out and shopping and chatting with my girlfriend really helped.

To all who have troubles & hard times, may the spirit of the season somehow find its way to each and everyone - somehow and in some way. And maybe, just maybe, those whom we miss, will be with us too.

 

[Colleen27]

I'm haing a hard time finding the holiday spirit this year too. There's just been so much bad news this year - between financial stresses and one family issue on top of another, I'm just in no mood to celebrate.

This is the first holiday season since my grandmother died, and that's a big part of it. Virtually all of my favorite childhood holiday memories are of doing things with her. Toss in the fact that my mom's home burned down over Thanksgiving weekend, and it feels like all the good parts of my childhood have up and disappeared this year.

We haven't cut our tree. We haven't taken the kids' Christmas photo, much less designed our card. We haven't taken the kids to see Santa. We haven't gotten the decorations out of the attic. We haven't even started shopping. And I don't feel like doing any of it. I know I have to - this is Katie's first Christmas, and I *want* to be in the mood to enjoy it - but I just have no interest.

 

[MoniqueU]

What is nice is knowing that I am not the only one feeling this way.....I send hugs to all of you experiencing struggles, grief and loss.....and pray for a better year in 2009.

MoniqueU- there is a nice group of moms of kids with hearing loss over at http://www.listen-up.org/index.htm that is really great at sharing success stories, helpful hints and just general support- as empathetic as the DIS (and they NEVER allow political threads- hallelujah!).

God Bless all of you....maybe the Christmas Angel will come in the night and take us to a spa......of course, given my life, it's more likely to be the Grinch and to the garbage dump- but hey, it would be away!

Thanks for the link. I will check it out. I am just grateful the aids worked and he is willing to wear them.
If someone would just come over and do my christmas cards that I ordered in august I would be really uplifted. I am hoping some of you got some stuff done around the house this weekend to get the christmas spirit coming in.

 

[TLSnell1981]

The bright spot for me is that my kids will be off for 2 weeks from school. I am at my happiest when my family is all home and safe and sound. Also my son was diagnosed with a 50 percent hearing loss and he is taking to his hearing aids very well and got the biggest smile on his face when we were in the doctors and he discovered how well they worked. I will treasure that smile forever.

I know the happiness that comes with this. DGD was diagnosed with significant hearing loss at 6 years old. It was very difficult for her to come to terms with the disability and to find hearing aids that worked for her. It's taken 4 years to find success. She's now happy, outgoing and doing great in school.

We never knew how much she was missing. She had normal speech and can read lips very well.....no one suspected the hearing loss.

 

[MoniqueU]

I know the happiess that comes with this. DGD was diagnosed with significant hearing loss at 6 years old. It was very difficult for her to come to terms with the disability and to find hearing aids that worked for her. It's taken 4 years to find success. She's now happy, out going and doing great in school.

We never knew how much she was missing. She had normal speech and can read lips very well.....no one suspected the hearing loss.

We really didn't suspect much either. My husband has this surround sound system from hell in the house and while it is going none of us can hear. So we just attributed it to that. He finally came to my mom and said he was at a fast food restaurant and could see their lips move but couldn't hear a word they said. How he kept his grades up as well as he did I will never know. Facing similar loss with my own vision I can relate to missing out on so much and struggling. I am just glad this is a problem that was able to be fixed for him. With all the other crap going on in my life right now I can cling to that smile that I saw on his face when he realized he could hear again and cherish it and cheer myself up. He is an awesome kid. He is almost 16 and just so well rounded I can't believe he is mine.

 

[smidgy]

We're all having a tough time here.. No one knows what they want - not even my 10 yr. old DGD; )

if no one "knows what they want", that's a GOOD thing! what a great opportunity to shift the emphasis of Christmas from.. "panic spending... black friday, everyone spend money they don't have to buy people things they don't really want or need" ... to..... spending time together, celebrating Jesus' birthday... maybe buying little stuff, just to have something to open (kid's LOVE opening presents, whatever the cost), maybe playing games, singing carols.

today at the restaurant I work, a charity group had a "meet and greet". they paid for a lunch for the families of children with cancer they will be sponsoring this next year. (to meet them) these kids (and their families) touched my heart. they are grateful for the money from this group, to help offset medical expenses. these kids (AND their siblings) were the most wellbehaved bunch I have ever seen! (compared to the beastly child with her family friday night who screamed at me every time I passed the table, about what SHE wanted (I'm talking about the child, here.)

as I choked back tears, serving these people, I thanked God that I spent the morning reading Dr. Suess (Go, Dog, Go) with my grandson, who does NOT have cancer, and has his hair. and thought about the family with 4 kids, at the one table, and 11 year old Andy has barely enough breath to tell me his order, and I knew this family couldn't afford to pay his medical bills, let alone worry about presents for the other 3, who "didn't even know what they want". they probably want their brother to be healthy and for mom and dad to have enough money to buy them ANY present. yeah, got ME off MY pity pot I'VE been on myself. hubby may be out of work, but we have our health.
gave me a NEW perspective I've been needing!
at first it depressed me, but then I garnered Strength from these litlle ones, who have so LITTLE, and yet smiled at me.
if you're looking for Christmas spirit, GIVE it. It's NOT about presents...

 

[smidgy]

Awww...I think you should finish the tree. Something about taking it down seems really sad.

This Christmas is difficult for me because it'll be the first one without my mom. She passed away a few months ago. I know she is now free of pain and in a much happer place, but I wish she was still here so I could tell her again how much I loved her and appreciated her.

I put our Christmas tree up last night, and it did lift my spirits. There is something calming about having it up and seeing the lights on. The last ornament I hung on the tree was a new one I bought in memory of my mother.

For some reason, I'm enjoying decorating the house, but I can't listen to Christmas music without crying.

my mom died (in 89) on dec 28, and the next year I couldn't STAND christmas music. the NEXT year, I drove my family NUTZ! insisting we were to have the BEST Christmas EVER! ( alittle over compensating there!)
my last post was not meant to be condescending. just saying we ALL need a new perspective, esp, in this economy, The GRINCH cartoon says it best' it's NOT about the presents. but that cartoon DID leave out... it's about the birth of the baby Jesus, God became man.
Hark the herald angels sing .. glory to the newborn king. peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.
that is the TRUE spirit of Christmas. the reason for the season. It's all the commercial artificial "hype" that makes so many people panic at this time of year, and gets so many people depressed.

 

[cruellababy]

if no one "knows what they want", that's a GOOD thing! what a great opportunity to shift the emphasis of Christmas from.. "panic spending... black friday, everyone spend money they don't have to buy people things they don't really want or need" ... to..... spending time together, celebrating Jesus' birthday... maybe buying little stuff, just to have something to open (kid's LOVE opening presents, whatever the cost), maybe playing games, singing carols.

today at the restaurant I work, a charity group had a "meet and greet". they paid for a lunch for the families of children with cancer they will be sponsoring this next year. (to meet them) these kids (and their families) touched my heart. they are grateful for the money from this group, to help offset medical expenses. these kids (AND their siblings) were the most wellbehaved bunch I have ever seen! (compared to the beastly child with her family friday night who screamed at me every time I passed the table, about what SHE wanted (I'm talking about the child, here.)

as I choked back tears, serving these people, I thanked God that I spent the morning reading Dr. Suess (Go, Dog, Go) with my grandson, who does NOT have cancer, and has his hair. and thought about the family with 4 kids, at the one table, and 11 year old Andy has barely enough breath to tell me his order, and I knew this family couldn't afford to pay his medical bills, let alone worry about presents for the other 3, who "didn't even know what they want". they probably want their brother to be healthy and for mom and dad to have enough money to buy them ANY present. yeah, got ME off MY pity pot I'VE been on myself. hubby may be out of work, but we have our health.
gave me a NEW perspective I've been needing!
at first it depressed me, but then I garnered Strength from these litlle ones, who have so LITTLE, and yet smiled at me.
if you're looking for Christmas spirit, GIVE it. It's NOT about presents...

What an amazing story of what the true meaning of Christmas is!! Giving of ourselves to others. That truly just helped me; as I find myself also in a semi-holiday rut, and I don't know why I think I'll make some xmas cookies w my 3 yo today

 

[Kteacher]

I am having a hard time getting in the spirit I'm working too many hours at my p/t job-I just pulled up my schedule for Christmas week and mgt. added two more shifts to my schedule , the 23rd right after school until closing, and all day the 24th. I'm working the entire weekend before Christmas as well . My inlaws always count on me cooking a big Christmas dinner, but I seriously don't know when I'm going to have time. I have 2 days off between now and the 25th , and one of my co-workers asked me to work one of those days for her

 

[babytrees]

I am glad a few of us have found a little more Christmas spirit...mine actually just seems to be diminishing.

Not only am I not working, I can't afford to get my girls much (not that I could while working), and other family "stuff"

I can't even get up the gumption up to bake/cook

to everybody!!

 

[C.Ann]

Another step closer today.. I put on some Christmas music, sat on the kitchen floor, and cleaned out the cabinets where all the cookie sheets are; my nut chopper; sifter; rolling pin; cookie cutters; cooling racks; containers to store the cookies in after they're baked; etc..

As long as I accomplish at least one thing every day, I don't feel quite so "blah"..

Another one of my packages came today too (gifts I purchased on-line), so that helped put me in a little better mood..

Eventually it will all come together..

 

[luvmarypoppins]

I am this year for sure. I am into the religious aspects of it

We just got back from a great stay at Disney but now reality has set in again and there were messages on the phone from surgeon 1 to call surgeon 2 office for a consult visit which I did today. So its back to reality and all the stuff I am going to have to go through.

We did 4 Samaritans shoeboxes and we did 2 Angel Tree Prison Fellowship little boys so that was so much fun and a blessing to them and us too. I am just not feeling well to shop etc. Ds won like 4 stuffed animals at Disney so we will donate them to the toy drive at dh work. Dh likes to drive us around and look at christmas lights too.

 

[HunnyPots]

Progress! I actually did a little shopping today! Very little, but still, its a start. And when I got home my 17 yo DS and three of his friends were waiting to help me put up our outside lights! They all pitched in and acted silly and just had a good time and we had it all done in about 45 minutes. That was a huge spirit booster! Just when I think I wanna strangle that kid, he pulls something like this...

 

[ntsammy5]

Not a problem this year -my 3 grandsons are coming for the holidays - first time they've been up in 2 years! Unfortunately the whole family won't be together at the same time though - maybe next year.