Where's the opt out button?

Sometimes I think that people like to make a big deal out of the holidays just so they’ll feel better about themselves and the fact that they don’t do much the other 11 months of the year. I’m sure I’m just cynical and grouchy, but the only thing I actually like about the season is the frequent gatherings of family and friends. I wish we did things like this more often or consistently, but we don’t. So I like the holidays because it’s the time we do those things… but I don’t like much else about them.

<>Being in social work, it’s weird that this is the one month of the year I don’t have to worry about the basic needs of my clients. There’s tons of food, winter clothing, winter shelter, and even gifts. Most people know that the holidays are difficult for people without social supports or people with emotional or seasonal disorders, but for a lot of my clients it’s actually a better time of year because it’s the one time of year people give a crap about helping other people. I wish people would pick a different random month of the year to go work at a soup kitchen or give food to a food bank, because it seems to be either feast or famine… literally.