Day Four: Holiday Blues

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond. ~ Rumi

It's the second Christmas in a row that I will not be with family. I'll be honest, it sucks. There's always the possibility to try and replicate the same traditions, but it's never the same if you don't have all the people around you that are usually co-creating the holiday. But trying to be that optimist that I know must live somewhere deep in my bones, I try anyway. I do understand now why there is such a thing as the holiday blues though.

So after a few moments of despair yesterday, I wiped the tears, pulled myself together and got tough. I walked to the library. Searched in vain on the library catalogue for navidad in Castellano and then Nadal in Catalan and when nothing came up, just before falling back into my gloom I typed in Christmas - in English. And wow, lots appeared! Who would have thought typing in English into a Spanish computer system in a province that has their own language would actually recognize my English!

So I checked out A Jumpin'Rockin', R&B Christmas, Christmas with Louis Armstrong, The Beach Boys Christmas Harmonies (didn't even know they had a Christmas album!), Snoopy's Christmas, and lastly, Christmas With the Stars featuring Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. For kicks, I went to the children's section and looked through their Christmas books. I found A Christmas Story by Charles Dickens in Spanish (perfect for practicing!) and went to the check out line.

Then I bee-lined it for the van, hopped in, and popped in the first CD. Literally music to my ears. The first song, Jingle Bell Rock managed to jingle a little happiness back into my weary spirit and before long I was crooning along, sandwich in hand, feet on the dash and a smile on my face. I tried to read A Christmas Story all at the same time just to completely flood myself with that Christmas spirit, but I can't exactly multi-task in the same way across two languages at the same time. I even found a new favorite x-mas song - The Boogie Woogie Santa Claus by the Lionel Hampton Orchestra with Sonny Parker. Check it out!

A phone call with my Mama and photos of the Christmas lights on our house in Wakefield topped off the day. Oh how I can't wait for Christmas next year!