You’ve heard that expression, “Go big or go home!”…well, thus my response to all five prompts from my writer’s group this week.

I will start with feeling like a Grinch/Elf combo regarding the holidays this year. Not a lot of explanation necessary for my life is what it is at present. Oh, the desire to deck the halls with my extravagant collection of everything Christmas is keeping me awake at night but my alter grinch ego is driving the bus, at a high rate of speed, away from our attic.

In some ways, I’m in holiday limbo, recalling the yearly anxiety with getting everything done and, in many ways, almost relieved to be taking a breather from the seasonal madness. But not really, who am I kidding? There won’t be any memory to look back on, just some blank recall of all I didn’t do this year. I’ve been thinking back to all the years of finding that perfect tree, decorating, shopping and cooking for family gatherings, such priceless memories that made it all so worthwhile.  As families, and friends, there is a finite amount of time ahead of us to be together. Human existence is orchestrated by a master plan of which we have no control. But, we do have the ability to make the best of what we all have, while we can.

And those lists, I’m missing them a great deal. Christmas is where reality is suspended and children still believe in its magic. But, as they grow, that slowly slips away. Toys make way for gift cards now. Trinkets stuffed into stockings hung by the fireplace cease being special treasures from the little hands that open them. Now, I find that my lists are just a few reminders on my phone instead of a pile of notes tucked into my handbag. If I had my druthers, I’d love for my family to share a few out-of-the-box, even silly, things for me to add to my list and hunt down, on Amazon, of course.

As relatively controversial as it has become, I have the Hallmark Channel on in my office, watching Christmas movies. All the time. On social media, the internet battlefield for opinionated warriors from the PC Tribes, people are chastised for “liking” this or that movie which deals with alternate lifestyles. I’m amazed at how people take the time to post how they’re “never watching Hallmark again”, “never buying another Hallmark card”, in protest of movie content which is against their beliefs. I mean, really? Even during the holidays, people? These precious days are a time to gather, reflect, show some love and give thanks that you can breathe and are free to demonize every dang thing that insults your religious dogma!  Take some advice, don’t like it, just change the damn channel, move on to political news channels and relax. I dare you, in fact…I double dog dare you!

So, a new year looms. And what might it bring? Hopefully not more of the same day-to-day challenges that our country has been dealing with. Let’s face it, we’ve been through absolute Hell in the past few years and I’m certain that those in control will continue dangling virus threats and more over our heads. But, if we’ve all learned anything, it’s that we’ve become a great deal more resilient and have managed to dig in our collective heels to fend off any more control from the sources in power. We’ve learned that we can get through most of what faces each of us. It’s not easy but with determination in our minds and love in our hearts…we will survive. We have to.