Holidays

As I was thinking about my next blog and listening to Christmas music on the radio, I heard an advertisement from the head of a media firm. He was saying a public “thank you” to his employees, his customers, members of the military, the police and fire departments and others. He had a list of people in his world whom he wanted to recognize.
 

I have to admit while I love the holidays, I hate the holiday crowds and the bad feelings that seem to circulate at this time of the year. Going to the mall is a nightmare – no parking spaces, people pushing everywhere and fighting for a bargain as if it will make the difference in their lives. I listen to the advertisements for the “perfect” gift and I can’t help but think about the families and children who watch it all but can’t participate in it due to financial or other constraints.

I love this time of the year – preparing for the holidays. I especially enjoy shopping for less fortunate children, and volunteering my time. But when I am alone my most favorite aspect is listening to the Christmas music. We have a radio station that started playing all holiday music the day after Halloween, which is fine with me! One of the songs I really like is often sung by Amy Grant, “Grown-up Christmas List.” She sings about all of the things she’d like to have for Christmas – love, peace and an end to hunger.

This has been an interesting week – I was interviewed by the Christian Science Monitor, SheKnows.com and Opposing Views about Charlie Sheen and his behavior. In addition, today I had a conversation with a woman who is writing a blog on how we can make change stick.

At this time of year, during the holidays, one of my favorite activities is to play Christmas music. I especially love this silly song that my youngest child listens to from a cartoon about Santa. In the song, there is a “despicable” guy who is trying to change from bad to good. The little elf who is coaching him tells him that “changing from bad to good is as easy as putting one foot in front of the other,” and then he goes on to sing a great little tune where he tells the guy who is changing “don’t be the rule, be the exception!”

In the last few days I’ve done three radio interviews to help people over the holidays deal with difficult relatives, or difficult co-workers: The holiday table is set, but many people don’t want to sit at it with their relatives. The holiday work party is in a fancy location, but some don’t want to attend and deal with co-workers they don’t enjoy.