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Something simple for the holidays

Somewhere in the middle, between 'my two front teeth' and 'peace on Earth,' there has to be something we can all agree on for the holidays.

Perhaps it's something as simple as complaining about the speed at which the Christmas season has pounced upon us this latest rotation around the sun. COVID, fires, floods, economies, immigration, elections ... it has been a whirlwind of distraction over the last year and a bit.  The idea of Christmas shopping lists, family trips, and home-cooked meals have all been compressed, it seems, into the final few days before the holidays. But how do we de-compress after such an onslaught of distraction?

We simply do, and we need to look to those closest to us to help.

Family has to come first.

Perhaps we can all agree on that, if we can't agree on masks or vaccines or politics or the environment.

Sure, it's so easy to say — it's like "Goodwill to All," or any of the happy, merry verses in Jingle Bells ... "over the hills we go, laughing all the way? ..." — But it sounds antiquated these days, doesn't it?  With all the strife and stresses we face in our current daily lives, how realistic is to to just hop onto a one-horse open sleigh and go for a ride?

But boy, don't you wish you could? 

"See you later job with long hours and increased responsibility because of reduced staff and COVID protocols, I'm going to harness the horses ... Adios neighbour who wants to talk about how wrong Trudeau is about masks, immigration, money and surfing ... I'm going to build a snowman with two eyes made out of coal."

We over-simplified the message here, we know that.  But somewhere in all this, there is a Christmas wish for just a slightly simpler way of life and living. Perhaps world peace and understanding are too tricky to have on that wish list right now, and a winter sleigh ride over the hills is likely not attainable for most either ... but somewhere in the middle would be a great place to start.

Merry Christmas.

 

 


Rob McKinley

About the Author: Rob McKinley

Rob has been in the media, marketing and promotion business for 30 years, working in the public sector, as well as media outlets in major metropolitan markets, smaller rural communities and Indigenous-focused settings.
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