Christmas

Christmas is my favorite holiday! Which is funny coming from an atheist I suppose, but I just love all the lights and decorations, the gaudier the better! Mother LOVES gaudy! Christmas - to me - isn't about religion (yes I know its supposed to be, but Hell the Christians stole the holiday from the Pagans in the first place, I am just re-stealing it), Christmas - to me - is about sharing the Love. There were a few years, when my older children were little, when we didn't celebrate Christmas at my house. After I left my first husband I gave the kids the choice, they all spent Christmas with their fathers' anyway, so I told them that we could either do the whole gift giving thing once a year at Christmas, or we could skip Christmas and whenever I found something they wanted, and I had the money, I would just give it to them then. They opted for the later, and for three years we didn't do Christmas at all. I missed the decorating though.

But sharing the Love is what my life has always been about I guess, its who I am, its what I stand for, what I believe in. I know its silly, I should be focused on important things, like making money. But showing people that someone Loves them has always been more important to me than money. When I was a teenager, I had a best friend that I loved dearly. She had led a hard life and had some pretty crappy shit to deal with. I used to bring her flowers every week or so, whenever I could. Her boyfriend couldn't afford them, and generally wouldn't have thought of it as important. So I did it. I was always finding stuff to give to my friends, and I hated the idea of waiting for an "occasion", so it was always Christmas. No matter what the calendar said I was probably wishing someone a "Merry Christmas" at some point on any given day.

We started celebrating Christmas again as a family after Father and I were married and the boys were born. We have always told the kids what we are really celebrating and why. We call it Christmas because it makes it easier for the rest of the world to understand, but we aren't celebrating anybody's birthday. We are celebrating our Love for each other, and my love for pretty colors and shiny things. If it was up to me we would have Christmas lights up all year round, and actually we do - the boys have them as nightlights in their room and we have a few strands that stay up all year round outside, but I would have them all up all the time. Father thinks that is a bit excessive, so we compromised.

I also cheat on Christmas shopping if you want to know the truth. Every year I take the boys to Toys-R-Us and tell them they have whatever amount of money I have to spend, and let them pick their own presents. I do the same thing for their birthdays. I know when I was a kid, my Mother gave me the Sears Christmas catalog every year and told me to mark the things I wanted. And then she made sure she did NOT buy a single thing on the list. It drove me crazy! For a lot of years I hated Christmas because I knew I was just going to get a bunch of crap I did not want and I would have to act happy about it. I promised myself I would never do that to my kids, so I don't. They pick out what they want and I bring it home and wrap it and put it under the tree. Father and I both get them other things that they do not know about ahead of time as well, so the element of surprise is still there when they unwrap their gifts, and no body is disappointed by what they got. It works well for us. And now I make sure my parents just get the boys gift cards so their is no let down there either.

So I am very much looking forward to Christmas again this year. Every Sunday from now until Christmas I will be sharing vintage Christmas cards all day on Mother's Facebook page as my way of sharing the Love with all the Facebook people who share the Love with Mother. I hope you enjoy your Holiday season, whatever Holidays you may choose to celebrate for whatever reasons. And always remember, Mother Loves you