Something stolen from me….

As much as I love and cherish my friends who belong to a Christian sect that doesn’t observe Christmas (and I won’t mention them by name), I am very sad and lonely this time of year and I attribute my feelings to them. I studied the Bible with them and took to not decorating for holidays out of politeness, because it made them uncomfortable, or so I believed. At first, I didn’t mind, because it was just one less thing to do. But when I look back on it, I realize that decorating was one of my life’s pleasures. Sometimes I decorated lavishly, and sometimes simply. I marked times of the year with valentine hearts, shamrocks, eggs, Norwegian flags, red, white and blue bunting, pumpkins, stars, candy canes…. It was harmless fun, I think. A celebration of color and lights that evolved during the year. Without the visible reminders, I don’t do much of anything for the holidays. I used to try out different activities. On MLK day I studied American history. I tried baking some Kwanzaa cookies. I wore a Mardi Gras costume to church. I still care about my friends but I have slowly and sadly come to realiza they are practicing a harsh arrogance