I've just found your blog because of your phone pamphlet which I hope to read soon! (I took a hammer to my smartphone on my wedding day six months ago and switched to a "dumb" phone. BC my husband is a geographer and we have a camera, I haven't missed much about my phone). This was a lovely, bitter-sweet read! My family didn't celebrate ANY holidays growing up. Last year was my first real holiday season with my fiance, now with my husband this year. I love aspects of the season -- the food and family and friends are lovely. But other parts bother me (the parts that bothered my parents too). It's interesting how you say we all break someone's heart. I wanted to say that's not true -- but perhaps we all have broken a parent or grandparent or God's heart. Perhaps it's most honest to theorize that we've all disappointed someone, which is almost (or can be) more painful than causing a potential lover heartache. All I can say is that love is real . . . and it's worth it once you find it, and once you find it you must cling to it and cherish it always. I sincerely believe this. Thank you for your lovely post, and may God bless you and give you a place to be for Christmas.
Hi Keturah, thank you for the thoughtful message. I just checked out your work and it seems we are aligned on many things. I admire your lifestyle and look forward to reading more.
And yes, I may have been exaggerating about the heartbreak. It's a melodramatic phrase, to be sure. But we do all disappoint someone or other. Romantic love so rarely aligns perfectly, and there's a lot to be learned from the misalignments – that's where the stories are.
Loved the post. It reminded me of spending three Thanksgivings in Austria. We used to go to a local beer hall and eat radishes and wurst, because when in Rome... Looking forward to your book, Cheers, Peter
Thank you, Peter! Austrian Thanksgiving sounds like a special experience – maybe I ought to up the ante every year, do something even weirder to celebrate. Hope you had a great holiday this time around.
I am so glad to hear from you again. I once had a neighbor who you remind me of, a girl 18 years old who moved to the midwest from Wyoming with her mother. I liked the young woman immediately, she was brim with keen observations about me and was very much in touch with who she wanted to become. Your observations crackle with intensity. Please keep in touch
Please describe a Faulkner like character, I have not read any of his work. This girl could care less about others opinion of her. She seemed to have no boundaries, but was well mannered and considerate. The talent she was most proud of was her spontaneous writing, stream of consciousness page after page in the notebook she always carried. She was a good listener, her mother had raised her without a father so they relied on each other to survive, she was the brains, mom was the bread winner. Christi was very intuitive of everyone around her, very confident and collected, I admired her spunk and shrewd observations. She challenged me to write in her notebook, so I asked her to finish drawing pictures I had started, at that time I was drawing with small bottles of fabric paint into a sketchbook. For over a year we were artisan soulmates, she showed me artistic inspiration can occur from the most unlikely source. She also showed me the importance of having a "receiver" for your artistic expression. Your writing voice speaks to me in the same way.
I was listening to the radio yesterday and the host said that Thanksgiving feels like the one major holiday you can get really creative with. Maybe that's because it's non-denominational, or because it's only celebrated in America, or because it's been politically contentious in recent years. I don't know, but the idea resonated.
I did get some invitations! But it's not always comfortable being the friend at someone else's family holiday, especially if you haven't known each other for long. I only moved to this town a few weeks ago so my closest friends are in different states or countries.
Thanks for sharing your experience, August, in all its somber beauty. I am European, so I have never celebrated Thanksgiving, but I can only imagine how hollow it must feel to be alone when most others are together celebrating. I am blessed to be part of a large and close family and I would have a hard time spending the holidays on my own.
I've just found your blog because of your phone pamphlet which I hope to read soon! (I took a hammer to my smartphone on my wedding day six months ago and switched to a "dumb" phone. BC my husband is a geographer and we have a camera, I haven't missed much about my phone). This was a lovely, bitter-sweet read! My family didn't celebrate ANY holidays growing up. Last year was my first real holiday season with my fiance, now with my husband this year. I love aspects of the season -- the food and family and friends are lovely. But other parts bother me (the parts that bothered my parents too). It's interesting how you say we all break someone's heart. I wanted to say that's not true -- but perhaps we all have broken a parent or grandparent or God's heart. Perhaps it's most honest to theorize that we've all disappointed someone, which is almost (or can be) more painful than causing a potential lover heartache. All I can say is that love is real . . . and it's worth it once you find it, and once you find it you must cling to it and cherish it always. I sincerely believe this. Thank you for your lovely post, and may God bless you and give you a place to be for Christmas.
Hi Keturah, thank you for the thoughtful message. I just checked out your work and it seems we are aligned on many things. I admire your lifestyle and look forward to reading more.
And yes, I may have been exaggerating about the heartbreak. It's a melodramatic phrase, to be sure. But we do all disappoint someone or other. Romantic love so rarely aligns perfectly, and there's a lot to be learned from the misalignments – that's where the stories are.
Hi Guus,
Loved the post. It reminded me of spending three Thanksgivings in Austria. We used to go to a local beer hall and eat radishes and wurst, because when in Rome... Looking forward to your book, Cheers, Peter
Thank you, Peter! Austrian Thanksgiving sounds like a special experience – maybe I ought to up the ante every year, do something even weirder to celebrate. Hope you had a great holiday this time around.
I am so glad to hear from you again. I once had a neighbor who you remind me of, a girl 18 years old who moved to the midwest from Wyoming with her mother. I liked the young woman immediately, she was brim with keen observations about me and was very much in touch with who she wanted to become. Your observations crackle with intensity. Please keep in touch
That is generous praise and an intriguing vignette. The way you describe her, the woman sounds like a Faulkner character.
Please describe a Faulkner like character, I have not read any of his work. This girl could care less about others opinion of her. She seemed to have no boundaries, but was well mannered and considerate. The talent she was most proud of was her spontaneous writing, stream of consciousness page after page in the notebook she always carried. She was a good listener, her mother had raised her without a father so they relied on each other to survive, she was the brains, mom was the bread winner. Christi was very intuitive of everyone around her, very confident and collected, I admired her spunk and shrewd observations. She challenged me to write in her notebook, so I asked her to finish drawing pictures I had started, at that time I was drawing with small bottles of fabric paint into a sketchbook. For over a year we were artisan soulmates, she showed me artistic inspiration can occur from the most unlikely source. She also showed me the importance of having a "receiver" for your artistic expression. Your writing voice speaks to me in the same way.
❤❤ this
Late coming to this, but what a beautiful post. Honestly, I'm glad the holidays are behind us
That will be my life from this point on. Thanksgiving was never my bag but when your life goes away you remember falsely that it was.
Better to never have been.
I was listening to the radio yesterday and the host said that Thanksgiving feels like the one major holiday you can get really creative with. Maybe that's because it's non-denominational, or because it's only celebrated in America, or because it's been politically contentious in recent years. I don't know, but the idea resonated.
I cannot believe your friends and roommates don’t invite you to their family thanksgivings.
I did get some invitations! But it's not always comfortable being the friend at someone else's family holiday, especially if you haven't known each other for long. I only moved to this town a few weeks ago so my closest friends are in different states or countries.
Thanks for sharing your experience, August, in all its somber beauty. I am European, so I have never celebrated Thanksgiving, but I can only imagine how hollow it must feel to be alone when most others are together celebrating. I am blessed to be part of a large and close family and I would have a hard time spending the holidays on my own.