'Tis the season to be jolly!
I have had to remind myself of this fact constantly in the past week for I have had probably the most stressful week of 2008. All I wanted was to be in readiness and organized for my favourite time of ano but things do not always go as planned.
I decide to do some início renovations and paint my house back in September, the house did not really need a revamping but I was bored and thought it was time for a change. Little did I imagine that only a few days before natal the house would still be looking like a hurricane had swept through it.
I decided to get rid of some good quality but no longer needed furniture, so friends jumped at the chance. Although the furniture was being given away they still decided to take their time and collect it when they were good and ready, thereby leaving my início looking like a furniture warehouse for weeks. That hurdle out of the way and another one appears - the carpet cleaners could not get their act together with keeping their appointments.
So with only a few days till natal I had a whole house to put back together, a árvore to buy(naughty rodents got into my attic and devoured my natal tree), decorate it and the house, and all my natal gift shopping to do. I was running around like a crazy chicken who had half it's head cut off ... but did I do it all? Hell yeah! I'm one determined witch when I get frustrated and mad.
So finally the house is looking nice and cosy (well, except for the spare room where a lot of things have been thrown into), gifts have all been bought and wrapped and the árvore I finished decorating only a couple hours ago.
Yesterday was my birthday so my daughter took me out to jantar (hey, nothing wrong with dining in a comida court of a shopping centre at natal time lol!)and today (yes, it's already natal dia in Aussie land) I'm going to my daughter's for natal jantar and make merry with friends.
The point of it all is that although I've had a really stressful time at this time of the year, it is also a "feel good" time-out. Time-out for some peace and laughter and a sense of tranquility and harmony. I believe every one of us entitled to this, even if it's only once a ano - we owe it to ourselves.I have never understood when some folk say they hate natal and no one has ever really explained to me why. They give reasons like it's too expensive or too much of an effort. I see natal as effortless and pleasurable. Whether you see the holiday strictly as a religious celebration of the birth of baby Jesus, waiting for Santa to come, an opportunity to spend time with family you don't see often or just a much needed festive break from work. It is irrelevant - natal has a different meanings for many. I have friends of various faiths and I wish them all a Merry natal and no one takes offence, even if they do not themselves celebrate it.
natal is universal and a perfect epitome of this, I believe, is the song White natal written por Irving Berlin in 1940. This carol is one of the most popular and loved natal songs of all time yet it is a Christian song written por a Jewish man.
natal does not discrimination against race or creed and neither should we. So with that in mind and in heart, I want to wish all Fanpoppers and the F4 and their families a very joyous, peaceful and seguro Christmas.
MERRY natal EVERYONE!