Topic : 12/13 Holiday Horror Stories

Hi I normally don't do this but I just needed to vent I guess. I'm living in a apartment which I hate I always dreamed of having a home but that won't happen. Also wanted a SUV and to be able to go to Hawaii for my honeymoon. I get so discouraged seeing that others are able to have some of their dreams come true but it seems nothing goes right for me. Now since 2 weeks before Easter I am raising my grandson whom I love dearly and we are just scraping by on social security. Now here its Christmas and I don't know where I am going to get gifts for him he is at a age 15 who says he understands but I know he doesn't.

Thank you for your reply to my Christmas peeves.  I do carry around a lot of frustration and anger,  and with what I've been through in life, there is little wonder.  Other things I carry around are agoraphobia, partial paralysis from multiple strokes, Seasonal Affective Disorder, and a childhood that rivals anything that you've seen on Dr. Phil.

I do hate the bell ringers.  I don't hate that they help people.  I just think you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar, and right now they're so sour they pucker me halfway down my digestive tract.  I don't know how they act in your part of the country, but they are down right rude around here.

I'm not a Christian.  That doesn't mean that I don't celebrate the wonder of this beautiful world, and all the wonderful people and things in it.  And it surely doesn't mean I don't give help.  I help the people God puts in my path, sometimes even to my own detriment.  I don't cop out by donating to charity or tithing.  I believe that good acts need to be intensely personal, not random or impersonal.  It sounds like you have a wonderful and generous family and that you all are on your best path to enlightenment.

I don't buy into the commercialism.  I get bombarded by it to the point I can't go out of my home.  Right now, I haven't been outside the house for over a week.

I have studied Jesus, reading The Bible in entirety over seven times, and also reading all the Gnostic Gospels, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and other ancient texts.  I consider him a spiritual and enlightened teacher who has imparted much wisdom.

I am not an Atheist.  Many people assume this, wrongly.  I am a very spiritual person, but my spiritual realm is mostly Native American, with a liberal mixing of Buddhism, and some leavening of Judaism.  Like I said -- Jesus was a Jew, not a Christian.

Thank you for your kind words.  I hope you and your family enjoy your Christmas and happiness and good fortune in the coming year.

Thank you for replying to my posting.  It's refreshing that you make the attempt to tell your children your truth instead of going along with all the hype.

I don't know where you're from, but I'm pretty much smack-dab in the middle of the buckle of the Bible Belt.  People here have virtually no tolerance for any religion other than Christianity, and they have no problem trying to beat a conversion into you if you let it slip that you are not.  I consider myself a spiritual person:  mostly Native American, a good bit Buddhist, and some Judaism.

I have agoraphobia and the crowds and noise keep me confined to my house (probably why I'm so grumpy), so I don't go shopping.  Even when it's not Christmas I rarely shop.

I never said a bad word about the Salvation Army, and have made donations of clothes, furniture, household appliances and such to them.  I'm glad that they were there for you.  Right now, I'm disabled from a stroke, cardiopulmonary obstructive disorder, and depression, among other things, so it's not like I'm thumbing my nose at any charitable organization, although I have not availed myself of their help.  There are a lot of people out there who are a lot worse off than I am.

As far as hoops go, I have quit.  All my friends get warned about sending me presents this time of year, and I don't send any out.  I buy gifts for the kids in my family only.

Why should I buy any kind of tree when I don't want to celebrate Christmas?  And I do plant trees, small seedlings of all different types to reclaim waste areas.

It doesn't matter whether someone else wraps them.  I don't celebrate Christmas.

I don't have kids, and if I did, I probably still wouldn't celebrate Christmas.  I would go all out on each birthday if, I did.

I'd love for you to try to walk away from a fight with my mom.  She grabs you and hangs on!  If you don't respond to her angry words, she'll grab you by the face and demand an answer.  You must have had easier parents.

I don't have any problem with you celebrating Christmas.  I just don't want it forced down my throat.

I appreciate your concern.  Thank you for trying to inject some enjoyment into Christmas for me, but I'm pretty dyed in the wool about this.  I did not take your words as a criticism or poking fun, and I hope you and yours happiness in celebrating Christmas and in the year to come.

Thanks for the good words about my post, and the partial agreement.  Since you enjoy Christmas, I hope you have a good one, and a good coming year.

I noticed the preponderance of Christian opinions, too.  No wonder we get labeled a Christian nation by others around the world.  My spiritual make-up is mostly Native American, some zen Buddhism, and a dollop of Judaism.

Believe it or not, I've only gotten three replies, and they were all kind and polite.  I agree with you about Easter being a much more important day to Christians, but then why do children go nuts searching for chemically colored eggs that supposedly are distributed by an egg-laying bunny and (usually) not consumed?  Another pagan celebration that has been co-opted by Christians, and run into the ground by (yet again) commercialism.  It seems as if this nation has succumbed to having "a marketplace soul."  Yoking spirituality and commercialism seems to me to be the ultimate in corruption of the soul.  That leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, one I wish I could spit out.

Take care, and thanks again for "getting my back."