"Home for the Holidays"
Alan
and Em revisit the concept of Blue Christmas, which they covered last
year on Episode 35. These are services that allow churches to make space
for people who aren't quite ready to celebrate
the season. But given the way that 2020 went, we're pretty sure that
EVERYONE is dealing with loss, discouragement, and depression this
year.
We
give our personal updates, talk about our 2020 holiday thoughts, and
then share some mostly (but not altogether) happy Christmas memories.
Merry Christmas, seasons greetings, happy holidays, and we wish all out listeners a blessed and joyous
2021.
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Link: Episode 35, last year's Blue Christmas discussion
Link to Opening Song: "In Like a Lion (Always Winter)" by Relient K
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Thank you for this episode. It was good to hear your voices again. I listened after Mass this morning, so it was kind of a continuation of religious services. This has certainly been an unsettled and unsettling year, but even though this time of "making your way through things the best way you can", there have been moments of joy even in the darkness. In the early fall, our youngest niece and her husband told me and my wife that they are expecting their first child in the coming spring. This will be the tenth of our grand-nieces and grand-nephews, and we were thrilled and honored that we were among the first people to hear the good news. Of course, that reinforced our efforts to stay on top of our game when it comes to avoiding possible spread of COVID, so we've been even more vigilant about mask-wearing, hand-washing, social distancing, etc. That has made holidays a bit "smaller", with just us at home, maybe calling and ZOOMing with family and friends, so we stay in touch and connected, but limiting direct contact. It's also, in a way, made Christmas, especially, more intimate and more focused on the religious significance, which has been good.
ReplyDeleteWe've been fortunate that we haven't felt a big impact, financially, ourselves, so we've tried to be as generous as possible, not only financially, but socially (not always my personal long suit), with family, friends, neighbors, and strangers we encounter.
I hope you and your family (and roommates are family), even in the face of these difficult times, have found moments of joy, and will, as far as possible, have a better year next year. This is my wish for everyone, actually.