Dear Charles (BTW, that was my father's name),

Thank you so much for your post. I feel so relieved to not be the only odd one out. At this time of year I feel a little overwhelmed. The fervent Christians seem to presume everyone is Christian, and believes exactly as they do. The materialists presume that it's good and normal to spend as much money as possible, on as much STUFF as possible-presents, decorations and lights, parties, party clothes, etc.

I do celebrate a little with friends who feel more or less as I do. The culture is so saturated with all this that it would be difficult to try to ignore it. I phone family members and friends that I might not usually phone, either to convey greetings, check on their health, or to see how they are doing, coping with all these societal expectations, that everyone will be perfectly happy with their perfectly normal family. The truth is most of us did not come from perfect families, and the Terminally Screwed generally did a good job of screwing up holidays, too.

Anyway, Charles, thanks for listening and responding. I'll try to lighten up a little, so as to not spoil others fun, and try to have some myself where I can. You do the same, and we'll get through this okay.

Love,

Mary