Dear Editor,
I just read Susan Healey’s article on caring for our mental health during the holidays (this is a perk reserved only for proofreaders and editors of this paper before it goes to print!). She is so right! For the last few years, I have been creating a “twelve days of Christmas” list for myself. The idea of it was to have twelve things to look forward to for the lead up to Christmas. In past years, it included things like a Christmas concert, having some French Canadian tourtière, a half day dedicated to shopping for Christmas cards and a few gifts for others, decorating a tree, helping out one or more persons with transportation or some other need, spending some time at the nursing home, and making someone a meal.
Already this year, I have completed 10 of my 12 days of Christmas and only have two left. They include a Christmas party and, of course, Christmas Eve. And thanks to the folks at our local church, there will also be a community Christmas dinner at our church on Christmas Day (but on a smaller scale than the one in Kemptville). So I can help out and get a great meal with neighbours and friends at the same time. I have found that, just as Susan says, it gives me 12 things to look forward to doing and keeps me focused so that I don’t feel that I have to do too much at Christmas time. Less is more, because less has a whole lot more meaning. It also helps me to focus on me as well as on others and to enjoy peace during a magical time of year.
Merry Christmas!
From the desk of the NGT proofreader
