The Story Hallmark Doesn't Tell

My mom has a hand towel that reads:

One more
Fa La La
and you’re
outta here!

It’s the perfect foil to her otherwise non-Grinchy display of holiday cheer.  It’s also a lighthearted reminder that the sentiment of this being the most wonderful time of year isn’t shared by everyone. The celebration and promotion of abundance throughout this season can be a source of excited anticipation, but it can also amplify feelings like loneliness and grief.  Suffice to say, sparkly decorations and treasured traditions often fall flat when you’re going through something difficult.  

If you read my blog last month, you know that I lost my father this year.  Unfortunately, his death wasn’t the only heartbreak I experienced in 2021.  I know I’m not alone in grappling with the hard realities of life being unfair, our time on Earth being limited, and that love, actually, isn’t always enough.  It’s one thing to hear these truths peripherally and a whole other thing when life calls you into experiencing them firsthand.  

If your holidays are overshadowed by the absence of someone or something you’ve loved and lost, I’m sorry for your hurt.  Inevitably you’ll experience a waterfall of feelings that comes with standing on ground you never imagined you’d have to navigate.  I hope you’ll let yourself feel those feelings and/or find someone who can help you through them.  It may feel like you’re alone, but you are not.  As Dolly Parton says, “If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain”.  For me, those vibrant colors take the form of family, friends, a career I love, nature’s reminders that new life always begins again, and an unwavering faith in all things being possible.  As we turn the corner into 2022, I hope you’ll take time to discover the rainbows surrounding you.  They can’t change the past or undo what’s been done, but they do assure us that brighter days are ahead.