Tis NOT the Season (Yet)

When I was a child (WAIT--no uphill trechs to school both ways, stay with me here!) The Christmas season began with a slow boil somewhere between the end of November and the first of December with the arrival of Advent. If you are not familiar with this anticipatory season, it is observed on the four Sundays prior to December 25th. Its a time to read the prophesy scripture regarding the coming of Jesus Christ and prepare ourselves spiritually for Christmas. For a Christian, the Incarnation or God becoming a human being is alot to get your head around. Its not "Happy Birthday Jesus" its "WHOA, GOD WALKED THE EARTH." Jesus laughed and cried and got mad and took a bath and drank wine, just like us. Yet, he was God? How can this be? In this season of celebration, we don't like to dwell on the fact, but this story had horrible suffering at the end. That's what makes it all the more profound and mysterious and HOLY.

Each Sunday, our family would light 1 candle on our Advent Wreath and have a short devotional time around our dining room table. My brothers and sister and I did not take the ritual very seriously, much to our clergy parents' chagrin. Silly or not, it was our family tradition. From that first Sunday on, we would begin, little by little to decorate our house for Christmas. In church, we would begin to sing those hymns themed "promised coming" such as "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus" and my favorite, "O Come, O Come Immanuel". Somewhere around this time, the Sears Wish Book arrived in our home and we began to make our lists for Santa. Everywhere around us, Christmas was in full display-- from the church to the streets to the stores. We played Christmas records every day and I longed to sing those songs in church, too. But we didn't. Not yet, because Christmas was not yet here. The slow boil became a simmer as the weeks went on until, (as now )our attention was much too distracted to focus on mundane schoolwork and teachers were only too glad to release us to our parents for the two weeks of Christmas Break.

By Christmas Eve, we were at full boil, fever pitch and all the other cliches that say OH MY GOD, WILL CHRISTMAS JUST GET HERE, NOW, RIGHT AWAY, THIS MINUTE!!!!!!!! Suffice it to say that some Christmases were good, some bad, but the few days after were always so depressing. All the anticipation was gone. Thank goodness that we could finally sing Christmas carols in church!!! For at least two more weeks!!! Hurray!! Because of course, in the church, the season after Christmas Day was Christmastide. Then by February or March, it was time for Lent, the 40 days leading up to Easter and then the whole thing starts all over again.

The 12 Days of Christmas was not just a silly song, you know. Once upon a time, people began their celebration on December 25th and ended it 12 days later on January 6 ("12 drummers drumming"), which is when the Amish celebrate Christmas (or Old Christmas as they call it) today.

That very long-winded walk down Memory Lane is my explanation for why if I see one more Christmas tv commercial I will start screaming. Apparently Madison Avenue has decided that November 1st is now the start of the season. (OK, they decided that a few years ago, but I just can't stand it anymore) This retail holiday is now influencing when people decorate their houses and celebrate. It makes me sad when I see Christmas trees kicked to the curb on December 26th. But if its been up since November 15th, O Tannenbaum is nothing but a dried up piece of tinder by then. Who wouldn't be sick of the mess and disruption to your home decor after that long? The problem is , we are all getting a holiday hangover just when the party is supposed to be getting started.

Now in church, we sing all the Christmas carols as soon as we start Advent because people complained that they had to wait too long to sing them. We sing them until the Sunday after and then we stop. One "We Three Kings" for Epiphany and its back to the same old, same old.

I know that one of the popular approaches to weight loss lately (really an old Buddhist philosophy, I think) is mindful eating. Take a bite and be aware of its smell, taste, texture. Be aware that you are eating, so you don't eat a whole bag of chips while reading the paper or driving your kids to practice or whatever. If you savor your food, you will eat less of it and be more satisfied. Why can't we apply this practice to Christmas? Why can't we just ignore the commercials and wait for it, wait for it...NOW! You don't have to celebrate Advent or even believe in Jesus to wait. We might actually enjoy ourselves instead of the yearly meltdown that I experience, overwhelmed by all I have to get done. Instead of trying to cram all the parties and gifts and all of it in before Christmas, we could take the week between Christmas and New Years (I'm not asking for 12 days, just 7) to do that. Heck, alot of first world countries do this already. They shut down non-essential offices so people can relax and celebrate with their loved ones.

So if you hear me grumbling about Christmas, its not that I'm a Grinch, its that I want to savor it, and you can't do that when you stretch out the season so long. It starts to wear thin at the end, just when its supposed to be revving up. I hope you decide to take it slow this Christmas. What you may lose in quantity, you make up for in quality.

Up Sorta Close to the President

Today my husband Lorin and I attended the Town Hall Meeting in Shaker Heights, Ohio held by President Obama on the topic of health care reform. I entered the ticket lottery for this event on a whim--without telling my husband, of course. Low and behold, the call came that his name had been chosen. This topic has been on both of our minds lately. As co-owners of a small business, he and his brother reluctantly reduced the company's health insurance coverage due to increased premiums as well as rising costs for worker's compensation insurance. Now all of us (yes, the owners have to pay theirs too) are moving to health savings accounts. I confess I don't quite understand how they work, but Lorin assures me we will actually save money going this route. It's been hard for our employees to deal with this change and they include family members and friends. I know some families are stressed by it, too.

With this on our minds, I was excited not only to see Obama in person, but really cared what he had to say about the reform currently being hacked away at by Congress. I don't remember Bush ever opening up such a forum to the general public and it made me feel this President really did care what I or any common person might think.

We both dressed up for the meeting. After all, its the leader of the free world! I work high heels and a skirt while Lorin wore a tie and dress pants. I felt confident and we were able to park "right around the corner" from the high school where the meeting was to take place. We were early and thought we'd be through security and in our seats in minutes. HA HA HA. As we round the corner, we where met with yellow caution tape and dump trucks blocking all streets and entrances around the school. Now a further treck of 3 blocks out and around to the correct entrance. As we neared the right doors, it began to rain. HARD. The instructions we received banned umbrellas from the meeting, so of course we didn't bring one (as if it were a big deal to lose it). We stood awaiting our security check, WHILE IT POURED, POURED, POURED! So much for my dressy outfit! That downpour wait changed this for event for me. What was sort of an adventurous lark became a hardcore quest. If I was going to stand in this rain, then sit, dripping dry like a drowned rat, Obama better have something good to say, damn it. It better be worth being soaked to the skin.

Like most of what I saw during Obama's campaign, the crowd was very mixed; old, young, wealthy, poor, middle class, black and white (did not see many hispanics, though). Everyone was very polite. I think we are all aware that many of us don't hang out together everyday and that this man was bringing us together. We wanted to be nice, maybe to prove that he was right about race not being such an issue. I guess we all can agree that health insurance is broken, can't we? As people surrendered their umbrellas, staffers quickly brought them to those of us without them, so all could have shelter until it was our turn to enter.

We found seats, then waited for 2:25 to come. As the gym filled up, the visiting political big wigs drifted in: Cleveland Mayor Jackson, Governor Strickland and some of his staff. I also noticed a political has-been, Mary Rose Okar sitting toward the back of the floor seats. Guess old politicos never die, they just don't get front row seats.

We knew things would get started soon when a staffer affixed the Presidental Seal to the podium. (with velcro, a magnet?) A female rabbi opened the meeting with prayer & a blessing, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem. A retired Teamster (I know, typical Dem thing to do) who now isn't retired because he has to pay his health insurance premiums (not the typical sob story usually told; more just Everyman's story) introduced the President and at the stroke of 2:25 (he runs a tight ship, impressive) the President of the United States took the stage. After about a 20 minute speech, he opened the floor to questions. Seriously. He took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and just started pointed at people waving their hands. No plants, no scripting. I think about what a risk that is for a politician to take in a room of 2000 people. You don't know what crazys might be lurking.

Since I'm not super political and my only agenda in this post is to tell my story of what this experience was like for me, I'm not going to relay all Obama discussed or what questions were asked. I'll leave that for my ex-news reporter husband. Suffice it to say that he called on a variety of people ("girl, boy, girl, boy" was his only stipulation) and each had a different concern. I guess what I came away from this meeting with was a confidence that the President is on the right track, that this is something that needs to be solved now, not later. I remember when I started my first job after college and we met with the insurance agent to go over the company policy. The agent said he thought universal health care would be a reality in five years. That was 1988. While I don't want that type of plan, I do think we need to fix our broken system. I feel that Obama is "real"--not calculating exactly what to say to be politically correct. He is not perfect and I am not looking for that in my country's leader. He is just a man, trying to do an impossibly hard job.

If you ever get a chance to see Obama or any president at a public event, go. Even if it messes up your schedule. I really think if more people where connected in some way to their elected officials, they would feel less helpless when it comes to public policy.