Families and Fireworks

The holidays make us happy!

JING says ...

I was talking to my friend L the other day about how holidays could bring out the best, and the worst, in families. The rush to finish the Christmas list, the scurrying to attend one party after the next, and the pressure to make everyone "happy" all contribute to incredibly high-pressure situations. There's this scene in Jodie Foster's Home for the Holidays that captures such a moment perfectly, the one where the turkey flies off on one character's lap, spoiling her dress and drenching her with sauce and stuffing. It was kind of funny, especially since still-not-sober Robert Downey Jr, pre-Iron Man, was one of the actors and he was hilarious.

Of course, when something like that happens in real life, it ain't so funny. It can be downright depressing. And as the event unfolds, you find yourself talking to yourself: Is this really happening? I can't believe this is happening. Oh my God, it is happening!

Days, weeks, and even months afterwards, you go through the event over and over in your head: analyzing it, tinkering with it, trying to find some meaning into it. It's like nitpicking at a scab of a freshly-healed wound. It's so itchy that you just have to pick at it, mindlessly, endlessly, until you find yourself with another fresh wound. Time wounds all heals.

And so it goes, on and on, until finally, when the event has seemingly lost all meaning, you put your hands up and say, I give up!

You let go, and you start breathing again.

It's a new day, a fresh road, a clearer perspective, and finally, mercifully, the holidays are truly happy once again! :)