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December 27, 2004
merry absence
Sorry about that, if you tried to check this page out over the past few days. Web troubles at the old homestead seem to have sorted themselves out, but there was some downtime.I had a wonderful Christmas, and it's a good thing. I was getting very stressed out and grumpy about the holiday. It is a screwy day for someone like me. A spiritual holiday for some, but I am not a spiritual person. It's also very much a holiday of greed and consumption. Leading up to the 25th, I found myself excited about giving and receiving and also uncomfortable about how much all of my feelings about the day seemed tied up with getting new stuff. I did get new stuff, of course, and I'm very pleased with all of it. I am most pleased, not by how much anything cost or by whether it filled a need or want, but by how much thought people seem to have put into trying to make me happy. That's a gift that doesn't require any money at all.Late Christmas evening I found myself watching "It's a Wonderful Life," and I noticed some pretty obvious themes in the perennial holiday movie. Doing good is more important than doing well was one. A perhaps more controversial theme: keeping small, local businesses alive in the face of outside competition and takeover bids benefits everyone in a community, according to the movie. And of course: family and friendships matter more than all wordly things. They're not exactly holiday-specific, but I was glad to be reminded of some real values on Christmas day.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at December 27, 2004 09:15 AM