26 December 2008

A chill-out kind of Christmas

snow, 2008, december 021 Now that we’re through Christmas, and the snow is finally melting away, I have to say this was one of the strangest Christmases ever. Given the current economic dilemma, I have to wonder if this wasn’t all meant to be.

What was different? Of course there was the backdrop of the economy, but this year it was the weather – our worst snowfall in decades, about four to be exact. That kept us housebound for most of the 10 days or so leading up to Christmas and cut down dramatically on the amount of spending. When you can’t get out to the stores and restaurants, you can’t spend money.

This all is going to hit the local merchants quite a whack, but it’s probably a lot more in line with what people need to do and I want to do. We have a lot to be thankful for and we had a great Christmas. It was small, affordable and for family even though we didn’t get out to see a lot of family. We also weren’t rushing around at the last minute, feeling guilty because we hadn’t bought enough presents or gotten enough baking, etc. done. It was just a low-key, chill-out kind of Christmas.

Really, this may indeed be the model for Christmases (if not life) going forward even thought we don’t expect to see this kind of weather again for a long time, if ever.

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