The Stationers Guild

Halloween kicks off the holiday season for me.  I carefully store away my Mad Hatter costume and begin to formulate the complicated logistical plans for our Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations.  Quite frankly, celebration and stress seem to go hand-in-hand at this time of year and with each passing year I feel that there is often more stress than good cheer.   The anonymous photo below – whose source I would gratefully acknowledge – is a hilarious example of what Christmas has become.

Christmas_House_Decoration

“Ditto Christmas” is one economical way to keep up with Jones’ and relieve the stress that is often associated with finding that dysfuntional light-bulb that seems to always short-out your lighting system each year.   I suppose it is our preoccupation with gadgets and “things” that make the holidays so stressful.

I am no different.  This year my wife, Sheila, bought me David Rock’s new book Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long.  This is one of many new and exciting neuroscience books that explains the workings of the brain.  I am just now exploring the section on the prefrontal cortex, which is much like a stage where actors (thoughts) pop-up on stage and seek to trigger a reaction with the audience (memories).  To avoid wasting my limited cerebral energy -which is often strongest at 2:00 a.m. – I am now working on turning stage lights off and getting a good night’s sleep.  Sheila is most grateful.

You are probably wondering what this has to do with “making Christmas special this year.”  Quite frankly, I’m not sure myself, but if I write long enough something is bound to popup – the stage lights are now fairly dim.  I guess “Ditto Christmas” is a metaphor for the stupifying routine and mental stagnation that now seems to dominate one of our most sacred times of the year.  Regardless of one’s religious beliefs, the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas and the days that immediately follow, should be full of happiness as family members share the joys of celebrating these special days with each other. 

This year many in our extended family have foresaken gifts (to avoid taxing the prefrontal cortex) in exchange for gathering at our home to share each other’s company in front of a warm fire, good food and great wines.   Who knows, I might even put a few lights on the house to celebrate the season and provide a warm welcome to our gathering family. 

It has taken some planning to avoid having another “ditto Christmas” and I can truly say that both Sheila and I are truly looking forward to Christmas with great  joy and  cheer.  I will store my Grinch costume for another year and allow Max to be the dog he was meant to be. 

I hope that your holidays will be filled with love and joy.

Richard W. May
Therese Saint Clair