[Zig]

...or, gitesses, even...?
So, do you all have families or partners or spouses with whom to share the season? What do you all do? Traditional and log-fires, pampering and food/drink...or indeed any of you having an "alternative" Christmas, travelling or doing those things you set aside as a treat? Do you find it relaxing...or stressful...or perhaps a combination of both? Perhaps some of you find it annoying, hard work, or even a painful and acutely "sensitive" time...?
I ask this out of genuine interest: I've "known" several of you for quite a long time, or at least the "virtual you" I engage with through your photographs; some of you I've grown to greatly respect and admire as photographers, as people for whom communicating via image is as important and vital as drawing breath...one or two of you I've even met in "real life" and you have become the most dear friends....yet I'm aware that I've no idea what most of you will actually be doing or how you experience "Christmas".
So: what are you all doing? Is it the way you like it to be?
To start the (snow?)ball rolling, I have to say that I feel quite acutely lonely and a bit of a pariah at this time of year, and feel my singleness(which is not the way I wished or believed would be) quite painfully; I'm grateful for a few friends who will ensure I have some company on The Day, yet find that this can in fact accentuate the alone-ness, adding to my feeling of being indeed a Sad Single Git.
I don't want to throw a pity party here...I'm extremely interested in what you'll all be getting up to, and sincerely hoping that this time is indeed a time of blessing for you....
....so, anyone?

[Toad]

Christmas is a very difficult time of year for many. Not only does it accentuate your "singleness", but we all set our expectations so unrealistically high that reality has a difficult time keeping pace. The way that the media portrays the holidays only exacerbates the alienation.

Over the last week, both my son and my wife have injured themselves in separate incidents - so I have spent 2 nights in Emergency - Tuesday and Tuesday. Fortunately, no long term damage but it does cast a bit of a shadow on the holidays and has thrust me into the role of nursemaid (which I don't relish).

The upshot is that we will be sticking pretty close to home this holiday and canceling our traditional New Years familyathon. Hopefully, we can be of good cheer and enjoy a few days off.

This thread is full of cheery stories so far, isn't it?

BTW: can everyone see my Santa Toad avatar? It shows on my home PC - but at work, I only see the normal hopping Toad sans Santa hat...

[Irma]

Here I go...

At the beginning of this month we got not so good news from G work... and even I promised myself that this wouldn't spoil my Christmas, I saw it as a black spot in my everyday picture... Only yesterday, it was the first day that G was out from home after recovering from a laringitis that made him voiceless for two weeks.... along with that shooting that made me move all my furniture three days to have some room for the setup... I didn't have time to decorate my home...

Eventhough I've been living more than 9 years in Germany, I can't make German Christmas traditions mine... I miss very much my family, my kids... it is very hard time at times... specially when I am intouch with my daughter via chat/mail and she is telling all what she is preparing for her Christmas dinner... she will have a full table with her family and in-laws... we will be at home and meeting from time to time with our neighbours. I am happy for me to have my neighbours...

But there is always a conterweight...

My neighbours next door are fantastic, and one of them, she is psycotherapist introduced me to Norman Doidge and the idea of neuroplasticity... He has written a book I am reading at the moment and I love it!! We all are reading the book and we have so many interesting table talks when we meet for dinner...

Along with the book, I've researched about the topic in internet getting really interesting information about the brain and how you can train it and make it work much better.... I decided to train my brain and not to let him alone getting old...

I thought at the beginning that all this was made up, just like a good business, but when you see that all this has been researched and proved by scientists in many prestige Universities world wide and they are making all this information available to you... it is wonderful! now all it is up to you!! me thinks...

Among many interesting things to do to keep your brain in shape, they advice to learn a second language to keep your brain working... and for the first time I have the real motivation for learning German, (it would be my third language, but I think it will work just the same... ) I am at the moment memorizing a beautiful poem by Gothe and working on my flash cards with new vocabulary!!

I started today to feel the need of shooting again!! and I am and I will be hugging the thought of improving my life by try everyday positive thinking because after all this (after my black spot in my every day picture)... I am alive and healthy, and that is the real treasure.... and for that, I feel blessed!

Have a Beautiful Christmas Zig... and thanks for opening this room to share part of our real lives..

Toad, all the best to you, and a speedy recovery to your wife and son...
I see your Christmas Toad in IE but I don't in Firefox.

[Zig]

Really touching responses...a word paints a thousand pictures in this case..lovely.
(Toad: I reckon with Irma that the display is a Firefox thing, as I get the same results as her. I'm glad, in a way that is, that the accidents were at least before Christmas itself..and out of this that there may be a different closeness as a result of bypassing the "familyathon"..)
(And Irma: thank you, most touching...the "neuroplasticity"..is that the same thing as "cognitive behaviour therapy"; that is, consciously being mindful[the new psychological buzz-word] of old behaviours/thought habits so that one can effectively "re-program" one's thoughts?)
Really nice to see behind the 2 dimensions we portray here...

[Irma]

It is not the same, Zig, as far as I know cognitive behaviour therapy refers to psychology, while neuroplasticity is in the area of neurology...

I wanted to explain it myself but I think I better give the link of the book and all about the author...

http://www.normandoidge.com/normandoidge/MAIN.html

Jules, I hope it is ok to give this link...