It’s just stuff!

Earlier today, a family member sent me this article and asked for my opinion – I was going to tweet him back then felt 140 charters will never do it justice – this is my reply to @NickPrattBriz !

Christmas is a time of giving and of course receiving, and although most my immediate family and I don’t celebrate the religious side of Christmas, every year we become fully involved and enjoy the festive side of it. And like most people we go nuts about everything from the food to the presents, the month long preparations and the indulgences. However, in the last two years my girls and I decided from now on we will celebrated the “Reason but not the Season” – and although it came about by accident, it is now a tradition we are very proud of.

Reading the Mail’s article and some of the responses, I was struck by two things. The first is that recession, hardship and adversity does not discriminate – and it never did – it hits people from all levels of the society equally and although it might not look it – how can someone who has six properties be hit the same as someone who rents from the council – the pain of lose is the same and even equal. That’s why it is always good in our hour of despair to remember that it could have been worst and there are those who have it harder than us. I find that kind of thinking always grounds me and puts things in prospective.

My second observation was who’s the parent any way? As a mother, my kids had to do without many things growing up, and of course it broke my heart and still does to say no, that look of disappointed children are so good at, cuts through me like a hot knife. There has been many time when I felt like a failure because I could not get them stuff – but you know what that’s all it is, stuff – and children are very resilient and always manage to bounce back – most times better and faster than the grown ups!