I work retail. For those of you who do too you might commiserate. For those of you who don’t these ideas may be foreign. They will especially confound those of you who are students, teachers, or… those of you who work in non-retail but also non-essential areas. And by non-essential I mean you are LUCKY so don’t take it as a knock… please?
The holidays, as I will generally call them, are the only thing I question about my passion for my career of choice. For most people this time of year is about spending lots of time with family, baking delicious and therefore size increasing treats (for which those of us in the industry of stretchy pants are SO grateful), decorating a tree together, spending time just being with those we truly love. And likely some drinking and celebrating as well. Retail changes this for the people who work its pre-holiday madness. I have missed a few Christmas parties this year, wont get to spend Christmas eve, and a few other holiday weekend the way most will and yeah, it brings me down a little because I DO adore the things we have created traditions from. This year I really let it get me in a place I didn’t want to be. I was a little grumpy feeling that I was missing out on what I felt was the essence of the season.
Fortunately, finally accepting that this was the way it was right now opened up a whole new perspective on what the holidays mean to me. – time with friends and family, value on limited time, digging into what working so much harder over the holidays gives me. I have been so lucky to spend time with new friends and old. It is the simple act of making dinner, sharing a beer or a cup of coffee, watching TV. This is what represents the holiday spirit to me. Lately, through some hard work, I have also managed to actually let people in. I am not so anxious about physical contact, a simply Christmas hug, hand hold, general holiday cuddle. I have allowed people to share in my joys and my frustrations. This has been the miracle this season that has allowed me to appreciate what this time of year is truly about. Working in a high volume retail environment has really taken the excitement of mass consumerism, something that can mark this time of year for many, out of the equation. Instead I am inspired and moved, to spend the precious little time I have not in a mall with the people I care about doing the simple things that might seem mundane to some.
All in all. I am looking for that alpenglow in the winter. The little things, the little signs of the progress I want to be making. May these small holiday joys continue!
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