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Telling A Story

The neighborhood I have lived the last four year boasts of some pretty tacky Christmas decorations. While they can be an eye-sore specially past the end of January, they do help spread holiday cheer this time of year. The lights remind of Diwali at home which is likewise often garishly over the top.

This year things are rather subdued. Lots of homes have no lights at all. A wreath on the door is about all they have for the holidays. Maybe it is a sign of the times - the parking lot at work was pretty full the week of Christmas and those at work acted like it was business as usual. This is a lot different from what I have seen in the past. Attendance starts to thin in the second half of December and by the week of Christmas almost no one is around. The few stragglers that do come in are elsewhere in their minds.

J has not asked for a Christmas tree this year either. Thanks to some ethnic diversity in her class lately, she has figured out that everyone does not celebrate Christmas and therefore does not have to have a tree in their home. The presents, cookies and candies are definitely very desirable and she would not mind them at all. Christmas has turned secular and in the process more accessible to her and I am glad for it.

Before she returns to school after winter-break and all the kids compare notes on who got what for Christmas, I wanted to leave J with some food for thought so she can cope with not having a laundry list of stuff she can talk about. I told her the story of The Gift of the Magi one night at bedtime - what better way to reinforce the theme of love and sacrifice without which the act of giving and receiving gifts is entirely meaningless. I hope it will stand J in good stead.

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