From Humbug towards Happy Holidays…to embracing the spirit of the season
Wednesday, December 5th, 2007 | General
It’s been extremely hard for me to get into the holiday spirit, either it’s just all happening so fast or I’m getting indignant about all the interviews with no follow through in my follow up.
It’s as if I’m Charlie Brown in the beginning of A Charlie Brown Christmas. He’s relatively mopey about the entire Christmas Season checking his mailbox and all he gets is the echo of his own voice.
So, he goes to see Lucy the psychiatrist who is far more interested in hearing the tinging sound of the nickel in her collection can before really diagnosing Charlie’s predicament. However, her panacea lies true in boosting Charlie’s Spirits which is “involvement” and for him it’s directing the “Christmas Play” with Lucy as the “Christmas Queen” of course, but I would agree her idea is what changed Charlie.
Therefore, I sought involvement and decided to sign up to volunteer to sell Christmas Trees for L’Arche Nehalem Community in Portland. They are able to use the parking lot at the now closed Value Village at 44th and NE Hancock. All of the proceeds from the tree sales go to supporting two of the L’Arche houses that are homes to individuals and families that are mentally disabled.
I’ll be there from 2:30 to 5:30 today - Dec. 5th - STOP on by, Pick up a tree, it’ll be for a good cause!
So, I’m getting more into embracing the spirit of the season!
I think what helped solidify this newfound unhumbug attitude was seeing the Portland Center Stage’s adaptation of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” yesterday evening with my favorite play buddies (Ghost Dog’s wife and Miranda) 
Thanks gals for a fab time, it was fun.
PCS impressed me wholeheartedly with this production. The costumes, sets, accents and overall energy was incredibly charming and made you feel as if you were in Victorian London. It was wonderful to travel back in time and breath a much simpler world that once was.
I think I just needed to remember that the value of Christmas is not the things that we have but the who that we have to share it with.
Going back to Charles Shultz days in 1965 and seeing that even in Charlie Brown’s world there is the capitalistic theme around Christmas, especially when Charlie’s sister, Sally, is having him write a letter to Santa Clause indicating that if Santa should so please, “make it easy on yourself… send $10’s and $20’s”.
While I might consider writing such a letter to Santa, I know in my heart there is never an expectation of my loved ones for “things” and so this year I’m being creative with gift giving Oh and the State tax kicker check is coming which will mostly go for school, but some Christmas pluses will certainly come from that as well
Happy Holidays to you and yours… - Next blog post - “My Holiday Movie Favorites” stay tuned.
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