How Oblio saved Christmas and me~

For a period of time in my life, and ok it WAS a long period of time, I gave up the custom that I once had learned to love as a little child~the celebration of Christmas.  From 2003 until the Christmas of 2010, I never put up a tree, sent very few cards to people, and rather than picking out personal gifts for my 3 children I instead just gave them money and told them to go buy what they wanted. I avoided any type of holiday parties, immediately threw away the holiday ads that showed up in every Sunday paper, and even though "A Charlie Brown Christmas" still remains my favourite of all Charles Schultz specials, with a tear in my eye I would always shut it off in its opening moments.  Putting it simply~the holidays depressed the dickens out of me and the sooner they were over, the better.

It's a long story and if I told it all the good folks at "Blogger" who manage all of these pages of mine and other bloggers, would probably start to complain.  But suffice it to say, it was a rough stretch of time.  By late 2003, I had gone through a divorce and was living alone, trying to figure out what my place in life was.  In addition to being a teacher, I had a part-time job as a CNA at a local health care facility for the elderly.  Gladly I would volunteer to work ANY holiday, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I used the reasoning that if I volunteered to take  someone else's place, then they could spend time at home with their little kids and family members.  Although I love to help anyone that I can, the real reason (if I were to admit to it) was that I wanted to work so I could forget that the day was special for something.  Hey, it was a great plan and worked out pretty dang good for 6 years~December 25 was just the next day on the calendar after December 24 and December 26 would always follow.  But then in the 7th year of my abstinence from enjoying Christmas, things began to change.

In the summer of 2010, a little kitten named Oblio came to live at my house.  Cute as could be that dumb cat was, and finally some extra company to look forward to every day when I got up and when I came home from work.  Anyone who owns a pet knows the therapeutic value that animals possess.  Little Oblio was just that for me and she soon became friends with my son Grahame and I, making herself right to home, as cats are famous for doing.  She must have been more "soothing for the soul" than I realized because before I knew it, one December morning later that year, I was at the store purchasing the first Christmas tree that I had owned for over 10 years.  

Although we celebrated the 2010 Christmas rather "small scale", it was nice to finally have something up in the house that reminded me of the season.  Despite all of the good advice that I received from Facebook friends on "how on earth do I keep a cat out of a Christmas tree?", our dear "round head" Oblio continually turned it into her own personal playground.  We tried everything we could and then some, but to no avail.  I just gave up and hoped that the tree wouldn't be on the floor some morning when I awoke.  I guess you have to look into the loving little eyes of a cat and realize there are some battles that aren't worth even trying to fight as shown below.

Last year's Christmas holiday was celebrated on a slightly larger scale with Grahame, Ricky, Angie, Ursela and Wade around our dinner table.  We laughed like crazy, tried some yucky vegetable called a "brussel sprout", had delicious turkey and even a "tofu" one for Ursela, our resident vegetarian.  It was a "book Christmas" and I asked all of the kids to pick out a couple of titles that they'd be interested in reading.  It did this "teacher mom's" heart good to see the smiles on their faces when they opened up their books and to realize they still had a love of the printed written word.  When it was all over, and we could barely get up from the table because of all we had eaten, I felt good.  Couldn't even imagine why I had given up the celebration for so very long.  

Later on this week, the tree of 2012 will be set up and decorated and the Christmas season will begin again in our house.  I imagine I'll be watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas" not just once, but maybe a couple of times.  I still like to send out Christmas cards, even though in this age of "e-cards" the antiquated process of buying a card, writing an address on it and sticking a "forever" stamp in the corner is pretty much over.  But some traditions I  really do have a hard time giving up on.  And one thing for sure, dear Obie will probably have her own personal "hey day" with her "new best friend" the Christmas tree every day while I am gone to school.  But in the whole scheme of life, that probably doesn't even matter any more. Why be worrying over things that you really can't change anyway?

For a great deal of people, the holidays reflect a time when families gather for fun, food, and togetherness.  The only depressing part comes later when the house is empty again and the mail man brings the credit card statement.  But for another group of folks, the holidays can be overwhelmingly depressing and sad.  Perhaps it is because of the economy or the fact that the "season" is so commercialized in many ways.  Maybe it's because someone has lost a family member or a dear friend.  In my case, the "interruption" of life from going through a divorce can have a long-lasting impact. Heck, even people who appear to have their lives all together can at times feel sadness at one time or another during the month of celebrating.  To pretend that it doesn't happen and that everything is "ok" as I did for 7 long years, certainly doesn't help out in any way.

One of the most "freeing" things that I have ever written about as I've been blogging for the past 18 months is being able to admit that there are sometimes when depression "sinks its teeth into me" and refuses to let go.  And as I write about it, things get better with the acknowledgement that sometimes it's a problem.  I always kind of liken it to being chased by a monster that always has you on a "dead run" and finally one day you just stop running and you turn yourself around and ask the monster "WHAT?" Perhaps as you read this, you may find yourself in these words as well.  If so, take solace in this thought~You really aren't alone.  It's tough to go through but somehow or another, we always find a way to make it through.

Take care of yourselves this good day friends.....and thank you for being my friends, one and all.  The world would seem pretty empty without you guys in it.  

                    Me and Obie~Christmas afternoon of 2010.  If she were only that little now! My life was saved by a little round head cat and to the "truest of friends" that I met because of Oblio, I will always give my "thanks".