Mind Retrofit

I am not one of those jolly Christmas, decorate everything, listen to Christmas music, bake tons of Christmas treats, (although I do love to bake but I do that all year-round) get a whole bunch of presents kind of person. I actually have a very hard time with Christmas. I am a Sheldon Cooper kind of Christmas person. http://www.cbs.com/primetime/big_bang_theory/video/?pid=Ev_wyabffIU_09PlON45fBqRHFHpuJ87

I have been the Sheldon Cooper in my family for years.

I do believe the root of this has finally been discovered. And yes, it stems from my mom but I know she meant well and most kids would have loved what she did. One of the things my mother always told me was to never lie. “Two of the worst things you could ever do is lie and steal.”  It never occurred to her to say murder or something like that because she would never think of murder. How preposterous. So when a little girl told me that Santa was not real I almost ended up in a fist fight. My words to her were “my mother would never lie to me”. That night I was really upset and I asked my mom about it. She told me the truth. I was devastated.  How could my mother tell me never to lie and she had been lying to me all this time.

Other children didn’t seem to be so effected.

I on the other hand still have a little issue with this, only a little. It took quite a while to get over this, I had a problem with the great lengths my mother had gone to make me think Santa was real. She ate the candy and cookies we had put out for him and even wrote me notes saying “Thank you from Santa”. One year she had her brother dress as Santa and jingle bells outside my window to make me think he was there. After finding out the truth I was very upset.

I know it sounds ridiculous but in my mind she had lied.

Not just lied but had gone even further. I vowed never to do that to my children. I have been fixated on Christmas ever since and the truth behind it along with all the other holidays that are celebrated in the U.S.. I will never be snowed again! I have been teaching our children all about the holidays in December. I share with them why we do a Christmas tradition and what it means to us. I share with them that not all people celebrate the way we do and it’s ok. I try to educate them on other beliefs and their holidays and traditions. I have shared with them about Santa being make-believe and we have fun with it. I also have made it very clear to them not to tell other children that Santa does not exist, I do not want my children to be the one who devastates another child.

I am getting much softer though, I really enjoy spending time with David and the kids.

I enjoy their excitement when they get presents and open them up. I do love to see people get gifts and be happy. I am not all together a Scrooge. But I do have issues with the Christian faith taking this holiday and making it into something that it is not. I don’t have a problem with people having trees, decorating, and buying gifts. I do have a problem when as a church the spirit of giving is only emphasized during this time instead of all year-round. Like I said I have a fixation now with the truth of Christmas and I am baffled at the so many Christians who do not know the truth behind it.

I wouldn’t have a problem if they called it what it is – a “tradition”.