Surviving the Holidays

Traditionally, the period between Thanksgiving and New Years is thought of as a season of joy, hope, and light, as well as a time for family and friends to gather and celebrate the season. Historically, however, the holidays are characterized by escalated rates of depression and suicide. These escalated rates come with good reason, of course. As a society, we place great importance on relationships, if only at this time of year.

Thankfully though, I survived this first holiday as a single-again. My daughter went to be with her mother over Thanksgiving, and I was able to have her until the day after Christmas.

In retrospect, December seems quite a blur. As a teacher, December ends the semester; therefore, there is always a great deal of grading and reporting to do. In addition, we must make preparation for all of the holiday festivities--buying and wrapping gifts, cooking and baking, etc. To add to the madness this year, we received an astonishing 15 inches of snow just one week before Christmas, which left many people without power for 2 weeks or more. Moreover, I was asked to be in a wedding over New Years; therefore I had to make preparations for traveling out-of-town.

I believe that a great deal of my success in surviving the holidays was due to just how busy December was. Granted, I did not escape all depressive thoughts. My mother and brother left early Christmas morning; therefore, most of my day was spent with just my daughter. Any other day, this arrangement would have been fine, but, on Christmas, I am accustomed to being surrounded with lots of people and having lots to do. Effectively, Christmas ended at my house before 11 am on 25 December.

The day after Christmas, my daughter went to be with her mother until I returned from the out-of-town wedding. Thankfully, there was plenty for me to do between when she left and when I left. I am also thankful that I had something to which to look forward--seeing a dear friend at his wedding.