Publishers Perspective: Tis The Season
– By Josh Warburton –
Oh, the holiday season. That time of year when the ordinary and mundane get replaced with challenges and the unpredictable. While I usually prefer the mellow and predictable lifestyle I lead these days, I like to mix things up, and I don’t shy away from a good challenge. This year, things all around us are a bit weirder than, say, a few years ago…and may be as strange as last year, but different.
While we are reading about a new strain of Covid and cases rising across the country as people spend more time indoors, some parts of life are nearer to normal than a year ago, at least in some places. In southern Utah, most folks are doing their best to “act normal.” Many are returning to events and family gatherings. Shopping has resumed at a brisk pace, albeit more online, it seems. And I again hosted Thanksgiving, something I realize I’ve done more times than not in my adult years. There’s something about getting folks together over a good meal that seems to negate some of the extra work and complications of having so many folks over to your house. And this year, there were a lot of folks! My only child, my mom, my brother, and his family, and even my dad made it to Thanksgiving at my place. And all sharing one bathroom!
It was great to see everyone, tell stories, make some music, and overfill our bellies. What was a bit of worry leading up to it turned into gratefulness for everyone being there and for me to host in my home. As is tradition, we dined on a multitude of tasty dishes and also dished out a few zingers, as is the norm for my family. But everyone got along great and seemed to enjoy themselves. And now we move into winter and more holidays are on the way.
But the holidays themselves are not too big of a deal to me personally. With my only kid fully grown and the adults in my family attending to their own families, Christmas is typically a pretty quiet holiday for me. And I look forward to that quiet. Would I like to attend a fun New Year’s Eve party? Well, yes, but at my age, I am usually well into REM sleep by the time midnight strikes, so we’ll see how that plays out. And then I get another quiet day! Yay. So while the holiday season always means different things to different people, it’s mostly a time of solitude for me. Quiet, calm, cold mornings with coffee and extra time in bed is what I look forward to.
I hope you enjoy this holiday season as much as I will…whatever you do, and whatever it means to you. Happy new year, and peace be with you all!
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Thank you. Lovely writing. Peace & Happiness now, and in the coming New Year, to you as well.