I'm having a miserable time gettin into the spirit

[InChiefsHeaven]

So, nobody really celebrates Christmas for the original religious purpose? Not to be a wanker, but that might be part of the problem. If you view Christmas as nothing more than a material goods holiday (which is sadly what it's become) then yeah, I can definitely imagine it being a very depressing time of year. I personally can't stand the "Christmas Season" as our society defines it, but I look forward to Advent every year on the Church calendar. I mean, I like Santa and A Christmas Story and all that, but really to me there has to be much more to it, otherwise it IS just another day that one must simply endure.

Please, I don't want to get into a big religious discussion, I just figured I'd point that out.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by InChiefsHell

So, nobody really celebrates Christmas for the original religious purpose? Not to be a wanker, but that might be part of the problem. If you view Christmas as nothing more than a material goods holiday (which is sadly what it's become) then yeah, I can definitely imagine it being a very depressing time of year. I personally can't stand the "Christmas Season" as our society defines it, but I look forward to Advent every year on the Church calendar. I mean, I like Santa and A Christmas Story and all that, but really to me there has to be much more to it, otherwise it IS just another day that one must simply endure.

Please, I don't want to get into a big religious discussion, I just figured I'd point that out.

I agree. Wholeheatedly. It's just disheartening when the secular part of Christmas, that I dislike, is SOOOO overwhelming.

We were in Home Depot on October 15th and they had Christmas shit up FFS. A guy doing some work for my dad said his wife put up 5 ****ing Christmas trees in his house.

All that stuff does is create undue stress. "OMG I have to get the lights up!" "FOOOOOOOOCK a lightbulb burned out." "What if they don't like the gift I got them? We have to make sure we spend the same amount on each kid. But your sister got your parents that!!!!" "We're going to be late for dinner! ZOMGWTFBBQ The rolls aren't done...NOOOOOOOO"

**** that shit. I try to become a hermit and avoid the shit as much as possible and try to find a way to get to church and study the reason for the season.

Just my take.

[sparkky]

AZ, hang in there buddy.
as for Christmas, when ya ain't 10 anymore it kind of loses it's luster.
it's really just bills and obligations at this point.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by sparkky

AZ, hang in there buddy.
as for Christmas, when ya ain't 10 anymore it kind of loses it's luster.
it's really just bills and obligations at this point.

Yeah that will cheer him right up.

I've had many a low point in my life. Shots to the gut and then thoughts of what the hell am I going to do now? Where the hell am I going? There is no special sauce to make it all better. You just keep on the path to bettering your life and then at some point you turn around and realize that...hey, life is better now.

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

I've had many a low point in my life. Shots to the gut and then thoughts of what the hell am I going to do now? Where the hell am I going? There is no special sauce to make it all better. You just keep on the path to bettering your life and then at some point you turn around and realize that...hey, life is better now.

There's some pretty good wisdom here, AZ. I know it doesn't make things any better now, but be confident that if you keep on chugging, no matter how bad it gets for now, things will eventually be better for you.

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by sparkky

AZ, hang in there buddy.
as for Christmas, when ya ain't 10 anymore it kind of loses it's luster.
it's really just bills and obligations at this point.

Ever since my youngest daughter (now 12) started thinking that her gifts from Santa really came from mom and dad, Santa doesn't deliver to our house anymore. Since then, I've been telling her that she killed Santa.

[sparkky]

Originally Posted by patteeu

Ever since my youngest daughter (now 12) started thinking that her gifts from Santa really came from mom and dad, Santa doesn't deliver to our house anymore. Since then, I've been telling her that she killed Santa.

LOL
I'm sure now the easter bunny and tooth fairy get a little more love and respect from her!!

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

All that stuff does is create undue stress. "OMG I have to get the lights up!" "FOOOOOOOOCK a lightbulb burned out." "What if they don't like the gift I got them? We have to make sure we spend the same amount on each kid. But your sister got your parents that!!!!" "We're going to be late for dinner! ZOMGWTFBBQ The rolls aren't done...NOOOOOOOO"

As far as the OP, I definitely understand how having the Christmas (mostly shopping) spirit shoved down your throat can get annoying, and there will always be those who take it to the extreme and think you should be so happy this month that you sh*t candy canes..... but as far as the undue stress, I guess it's a perk of being single and not having to worry about who's place we're going to this year, etc; and my family is pretty laid back, so I'd end up being way too apathetic about other people's feelings on where I should be Christmas morning, who I should be with, blah blah blah.

People put way too much thought into that crap... give gifts to those you care about the most, or do what you can afford; be with those you want to be with, and make the most of it. It's not that complicated, mostly because there's another one next year, and the year after that, and the year after that....

[seclark]

1972
Christmas day...my birthday. my mother and us kids were living w/my grandmother in st. louis. mom had just packed us up and left my dad a month earlier. dad was in a detox ward 150 miles away. after we left him, he'd hit rock bottom, quit his job before he was fired and checked himself in. we had no money, food came from grandmas job. didn't know what the future had in store for us. the only gifts we got was a bag of oranges from the lady next door.

we'd gone to my aunts house for Christmas dinner. it was awful. people were trying to be nice, because they all felt sorry for us, i guess.

about 1:30 the doorbell rang. i went up and answered it. i opened the door to see my father standing there, not knowing whether he'd be welcomed or not. he'd started working on the detox ward, helping w/new patients and such. they had a patient that needed sent to st.louis for something, and he was allowed to help bring him down. it was the first time i ever remembered hugging my father(12 years old). he was only there for about 15 minutes, but he told us all how he was doing his best to get himself straightened out, and if possible, we could all be together as a family again.

he did. he got out and got a job, eventually going back to what he did when everything blew up. two weeks later, i moved back w/him. the next week, so did my older brother. two weeks after that, mom and my sisters came back. he stayed sober and was the best father i could ever have for the last 36 years of his life.

1972
Christmas day. the best Christmas i ever had. no gifts. just hope.

sec

[ChiTown]

Originally Posted by seclark

1972
Christmas day...my birthday. my mother and us kids were living w/my grandmother in st. louis. mom had just packed us up and left my dad a month earlier. dad was in a detox ward 150 miles away. after we left him, he'd hit rock bottom, quit his job before he was fired and checked himself in. we had no money, food came from grandmas job. didn't know what the future had in store for us. the only gifts we got was a bag of oranges from the lady next door.

we'd gone to my aunts house for Christmas dinner. it was awful. people were trying to be nice, because they all felt sorry for us, i guess.

about 1:30 the doorbell rang. i went up and answered it. i opened the door to see my father standing there, not knowing whether he'd be welcomed or not. he'd started working on the detox ward, helping w/new patients and such. they had a patient that needed sent to st.louis for something, and he was allowed to help bring him down. it was the first time i ever remembered hugging my father(12 years old). he was only there for about 15 minutes, but he told us all how he was doing his best to get himself straightened out, and if possible, we could all be together as a family again.

he did. he got out and got a job, eventually going back to what he did when everything blew up. two weeks later, i moved back w/him. the next week, so did my older brother. two weeks after that, mom and my sisters came back. he stayed sober and was the best father i could ever have for the last 36 years of his life.

1972
Christmas day. the best Christmas i ever had. no gifts. just hope.

sec

Beautiful story, sec.

Thanks for sharing.

[Jilly]

Originally Posted by seclark

1972
Christmas day...my birthday. my mother and us kids were living w/my grandmother in st. louis. mom had just packed us up and left my dad a month earlier. dad was in a detox ward 150 miles away. after we left him, he'd hit rock bottom, quit his job before he was fired and checked himself in. we had no money, food came from grandmas job. didn't know what the future had in store for us. the only gifts we got was a bag of oranges from the lady next door.

we'd gone to my aunts house for Christmas dinner. it was awful. people were trying to be nice, because they all felt sorry for us, i guess.

about 1:30 the doorbell rang. i went up and answered it. i opened the door to see my father standing there, not knowing whether he'd be welcomed or not. he'd started working on the detox ward, helping w/new patients and such. they had a patient that needed sent to st.louis for something, and he was allowed to help bring him down. it was the first time i ever remembered hugging my father(12 years old). he was only there for about 15 minutes, but he told us all how he was doing his best to get himself straightened out, and if possible, we could all be together as a family again.

he did. he got out and got a job, eventually going back to what he did when everything blew up. two weeks later, i moved back w/him. the next week, so did my older brother. two weeks after that, mom and my sisters came back. he stayed sober and was the best father i could ever have for the last 36 years of his life.

1972
Christmas day. the best Christmas i ever had. no gifts. just hope.

sec

That is powerful, sec. Hope is powerful.

[El Jefe]

Originally Posted by seclark

1972
Christmas day...my birthday. my mother and us kids were living w/my grandmother in st. louis. mom had just packed us up and left my dad a month earlier. dad was in a detox ward 150 miles away. after we left him, he'd hit rock bottom, quit his job before he was fired and checked himself in. we had no money, food came from grandmas job. didn't know what the future had in store for us. the only gifts we got was a bag of oranges from the lady next door.

we'd gone to my aunts house for Christmas dinner. it was awful. people were trying to be nice, because they all felt sorry for us, i guess.

about 1:30 the doorbell rang. i went up and answered it. i opened the door to see my father standing there, not knowing whether he'd be welcomed or not. he'd started working on the detox ward, helping w/new patients and such. they had a patient that needed sent to st.louis for something, and he was allowed to help bring him down. it was the first time i ever remembered hugging my father(12 years old). he was only there for about 15 minutes, but he told us all how he was doing his best to get himself straightened out, and if possible, we could all be together as a family again.

he did. he got out and got a job, eventually going back to what he did when everything blew up. two weeks later, i moved back w/him. the next week, so did my older brother. two weeks after that, mom and my sisters came back. he stayed sober and was the best father i could ever have for the last 36 years of his life.

1972
Christmas day. the best Christmas i ever had. no gifts. just hope.

sec

Wow, man that gave me goose bumps what a story, thanks for sharing.

[stevieray]

Originally Posted by seclark

1972
Christmas day...my birthday. my mother and us kids were living w/my grandmother in st. louis. mom had just packed us up and left my dad a month earlier. dad was in a detox ward 150 miles away. after we left him, he'd hit rock bottom, quit his job before he was fired and checked himself in. we had no money, food came from grandmas job. didn't know what the future had in store for us. the only gifts we got was a bag of oranges from the lady next door.

we'd gone to my aunts house for Christmas dinner. it was awful. people were trying to be nice, because they all felt sorry for us, i guess.

about 1:30 the doorbell rang. i went up and answered it. i opened the door to see my father standing there, not knowing whether he'd be welcomed or not. he'd started working on the detox ward, helping w/new patients and such. they had a patient that needed sent to st.louis for something, and he was allowed to help bring him down. it was the first time i ever remembered hugging my father(12 years old). he was only there for about 15 minutes, but he told us all how he was doing his best to get himself straightened out, and if possible, we could all be together as a family again.

he did. he got out and got a job, eventually going back to what he did when everything blew up. two weeks later, i moved back w/him. the next week, so did my older brother. two weeks after that, mom and my sisters came back. he stayed sober and was the best father i could ever have for the last 36 years of his life.

1972
Christmas day. the best Christmas i ever had. no gifts. just hope.

sec

...that is by far the absolute greatest story I think I've ever read in the decade I've been here. Thank you for sharing.

My Dad took my mom's brand new car and left us when I was eighteen months old... we too had to move in with my moms' mom till i was in the third grade..it took my mom working at IBM for that lomg before she could afford to get our very first apt @ Somerset village in Raytown..it's still there..and it's small but seemed huge to me then..and we still joke about how all we had was a couch, a B/W TV, and a rubber plant...those memories of growing up in grandmas house and (even though we didn't have much), those christmas' with the smell of a real tree, nuts and candy in the stockings and the warmth and love and the spirit of giving from my grandma remains deeply rooted in my sense of the Spirit of the Season.

Merry Christmas to you and yours sec....Merry Christmas.

[Slainte]

Originally Posted by seclark

1972
Christmas day. the best Christmas i ever had.

Worst Christmas ever for Chiefs fans...

[Brock]

Originally Posted by Town'NCountryChief

Worst Christmas ever for Chiefs fans...

Are you sure about that?