Religious Assumptions
Come on Christmas, you can come and go anytime now.
Spending the holidays alone just makes me look forward to next Christmas even more.
At work I am bombarded by "Merry Christmas" from just about every other customer that leaves the store. I'm actually kind of offended by people for saying MERRY CHRISTMAS... I mean, come on... how do they KNOW that I celebrate Christmas? How do they know that I'm not Jewish/Jehovah's Witness/etc? How can they assume that I am actually enjoying the Christmas season? Every time someone assumes that I am as consumed with the holiday spirit as they are... I cringe... and feel just a little bit sadder. Their friendly-ignorant little greetings do nothing but remind me again and again that I'm spending my Christmas, just like my Thanksgiving, alone in my house. My husband is in Iraq; my family is 12+ hours away; and my close friends are scattered throughout the midwest. Yeah, Merry Christmas. Thanks for the reminder.
I guess maybe I am just more openminded and sensitive than other people. I mentioned my annoyance with "Merry Christmas" to one of my very-Christian coworkers. She looked at me like I was crazy, she just couldn't fathom why I was offended by it. She explained that because Christianity is the most common religion, that it is acceptable to assume everyone celebrates it. Um, really? How would it make you feel if you weren't part of the "majority" and people always assumed that you were a part of the bigger whole?
I dunno. Just a little pet peeve of mine, I guess. (Me, being an oversensitive super Athiest)
HEY! And on a brighter note... Sometime in the next 8-10 weeks I should have my husband back!!! HOLY CRAP!!! It's sad and simultaneously strange to realize that we have been apart for almost exactly the same amount of time that we were together before he deployed. Nearly HALF of our entire relationship has been long-distance... and for the first time in my life, the long-distance portion came AFTER the in-person half :) I can't WAIT to wake up to my lover again. God. A year is far, far too long. I hope to the God of Gods that we won't have to go through this again.
Spending the holidays alone just makes me look forward to next Christmas even more.
At work I am bombarded by "Merry Christmas" from just about every other customer that leaves the store. I'm actually kind of offended by people for saying MERRY CHRISTMAS... I mean, come on... how do they KNOW that I celebrate Christmas? How do they know that I'm not Jewish/Jehovah's Witness/etc? How can they assume that I am actually enjoying the Christmas season? Every time someone assumes that I am as consumed with the holiday spirit as they are... I cringe... and feel just a little bit sadder. Their friendly-ignorant little greetings do nothing but remind me again and again that I'm spending my Christmas, just like my Thanksgiving, alone in my house. My husband is in Iraq; my family is 12+ hours away; and my close friends are scattered throughout the midwest. Yeah, Merry Christmas. Thanks for the reminder.
I guess maybe I am just more openminded and sensitive than other people. I mentioned my annoyance with "Merry Christmas" to one of my very-Christian coworkers. She looked at me like I was crazy, she just couldn't fathom why I was offended by it. She explained that because Christianity is the most common religion, that it is acceptable to assume everyone celebrates it. Um, really? How would it make you feel if you weren't part of the "majority" and people always assumed that you were a part of the bigger whole?
I dunno. Just a little pet peeve of mine, I guess. (Me, being an oversensitive super Athiest)
HEY! And on a brighter note... Sometime in the next 8-10 weeks I should have my husband back!!! HOLY CRAP!!! It's sad and simultaneously strange to realize that we have been apart for almost exactly the same amount of time that we were together before he deployed. Nearly HALF of our entire relationship has been long-distance... and for the first time in my life, the long-distance portion came AFTER the in-person half :) I can't WAIT to wake up to my lover again. God. A year is far, far too long. I hope to the God of Gods that we won't have to go through this again.