I related to so much of this post. Christmas has been tinged with sadness for me since the last Christmas before my parents separated. That was the same year I stopped believing in Santa (5th grade). About 8 years ago I stopped visiting my dad for Christmas for a myriad of complicated reasons and then had several Christmases in succession that involved deep loss (being betrayed by a loved one, my then partner's mom dying on Christmas Eve, my favorite cat dying a day before Solstice). Somewhere in the midst of that I have reclaimed Christmas and returned it to its true origins which to me is waiting in darkness and finding gratitude for the unexpected light.
Repent and accept Christ Audrey.
I related to so much of this post. Christmas has been tinged with sadness for me since the last Christmas before my parents separated. That was the same year I stopped believing in Santa (5th grade). About 8 years ago I stopped visiting my dad for Christmas for a myriad of complicated reasons and then had several Christmases in succession that involved deep loss (being betrayed by a loved one, my then partner's mom dying on Christmas Eve, my favorite cat dying a day before Solstice). Somewhere in the midst of that I have reclaimed Christmas and returned it to its true origins which to me is waiting in darkness and finding gratitude for the unexpected light.
Thank you!
Hollis