How can someone be so mean?

There is a person in my life that somehow manages to get past all my defenses against negativity. This only happens when the holiday season starts. The entirety of the rest of the year, I am able to ignore, gloss over, let slide, and let go of all the misery she tries to spread. Except at Christmas.

As a child, I loved Christmas. We didn't get tons of presents like a lot of other kids, but we got enough. We also got the very things we were wishing for. To me, that meant that my mother listened to me and my siblings and heard what we said. That meant more than the gift itself, as I see it now.

Christmas was fun in the snow, no school, and FOOD! Lots of treats and delicious dinners. A whole stocking full of candy just for me! My mom was the best cook ever, and I looked forward to Christmas dinner all year long!

Somehow, though, I have lost the magic of Christmas. I have let one woman and her thoughtless remarks make me hate the world's favorite holiday. Every year she makes sure to tell my children that they will not get as many presents as her grandson.

I know she does this because she doesn't want them to feel bad on Christmas morning when he has more presents under the tree. The main problem with her solution, is that there wasn't a problem to begin with. My kids have never counted presents to see who got more. They have never done a price comparison to see who got more money spent on them.

I want to cry. I want to yell at her. I want to tell her that she can shove her @#&%ing presents. . . . well, you get the idea.

But my feelings are not her problem. My reaction to her thoughtlessness are not her responsibility. I have let my own bad feelings ruin Christmas for me for more than a decade.

NO MORE!

I will not let her words ruin the magic and beauty of Christmas ever again. I will enjoy it. My children have taught me a life lesson. They still love Christmas, despite the thoughtless ramblings of one old woman. I am taking responsibility for my feelings. I am choosing joy and love. I CHOOSE HAPPINESS.