You’re in the grip of the Not-So-Holiday Monster. He trudges along beside you, grumbling quietly and rolling his eyes as sarcastically as possible. The two of you mutter at every over-the-top display or current pop star's rendition of “All I Want For Christmas”. You’re his puppet of holiday humbug. “This is all so pointless! All these people spending wildly and eating everything!!” “It’s all so commercial and ridiculous!!” “You’re not waiting for ME under the mistletoe, Justin Bieber!!!”
The two of you angrily make your way out of the town square. You dodge well wishers to the left and laughing children on the right. That is...all except one well wisher and her laughing child... A friend you haven’t seen in a while waves you over, her daughter already giggling. Caught in the full tide of scroogery, you immediately demand of them: “Are you enjoying all of this?!” There is a pause. A very cold, very heavy pause. Your friend starts to answer you, but her daughter cuts her off. The little girl walks right up to you and takes your hand, looking into your eyes the way children are never afraid to do. Very softly, with a bright light of happiness shining from every bit of her, she simply says, “Yes, we are. We are, very much.”
Your face screws itself up into a very small space. You try so hard to hold onto the scroogery, but it’s just too late. Not-So-Holiday Monster glances at your face, his mood souring even more. He snorts in complete disgust at your growing merriment and waddles in a quick circle. After one last glance at your now shining face, he sighs and slowly makes his way to another grump in the making. Bah humbug.
