Christmas Eve

Work was awfully quiet yesterday; today i am actually going into the office. I've a friend who must, as she does support work. It seems going in to the near-empty office with Christine, going out to lunch with our friend, is different and festive and i can continue to get some work done.

I hope i am consistently generous throughout the year. I have in mind folks who don't observe, for so many different reasons, from sensible indifference ("Not my holidays") to various amounts of pain (missing people, estrangement). I don't know what to offer except my hope for comfort and ease.

I find myself wishing folks "Happy holidays," more and more. Quakers traditionally shunned the celebrations as they were clearly pagan and not an authentic expression of the connection with the birth of Christ. (Friends also dumped the names of days of the week and months under similar compunctions.) While the branch of Friends i'm in does not expect members to shun holiday celebrations, it does not add expectations to the rest of the cultural expectations.

Staying connected to the turning of the year is a spiritual practice for me, so the pagan trappings of the season do not offend me. Some years i decorate with great enthusiasm: this year i didn't feel it. I'm happy that there's no expectations, no pressure to do so.

Somehow, i've carved away so many holiday expectations -- happily Christine is of a similar inclination. I've learned that not having plans is a plan, how to gently rebuff the gracious invitations of those who want crowds around them at the holidays and wish to include those who don't have crowds. I've learned to respect that, too, some folks love to do the Christmas bustle: the baking, the gifting, the many traditional activities.

Blather blather, i must get back to work.