Christmas-A Warm And Wonderful Season

Christmas is an amazing time of year.  The Carols, lights, decorations and festivities fill most of our hearts with an energy that can be obsessive if we let it!  There’s a joy, kindness and peace that seems to exude from each of us as we pass friends and neighbors on the street and sometimes even carries over to strangers.

The busy-ness of the season sends us in what seems to be sixty-three different directions and sometimes it’s difficult to keep up.  There are Christmas cards to get ready, gifts to buy, decorations to put up, foods to prep, Christmas plays and concerts to attend,  friends and family to entertain as they visit from out of state, and this is just the tip of the iceberg!  All this activity can seem more like chaos and has the ability to set us in a tailspin.

The disability ‘people group’ have their own perception of Christmas and sometimes it’s totally different than those of their non-disabled peers.  Certainly they enjoy gift giving, but shopping can be a struggle if mobility is hampered.  Still, when visitors come, whether in the form of family or friends, it’s a welcome change from the routine of healthcare appointments, therapy sessions and other inhibitors they deal with on a day to day basis.

Travel can be difficult unless a trusted friend or relative is willing to accommodate, which isn’t always an option.  There are a variety of practical elements which must be considered such as dietary restrictions, bedtime routines, and even transportation requirements once they’ve arrived at their destination.

Even interaction with friends and family can dampen a normally festive occasion due to acceptance and perceptions regarding a particular situation.  Mixed responses can be emotionally upending.

While wanting to be included in this warm and wonderful season, it can present undeniable frustration and uncertainty on both sides of the equation.  Both sides feel the weight of the other, but finding a balance to be both accommodating and understanding can be precarious causing uneasiness for everyone involved.

Those who live the ‘disabilities’ are intensely aware of who they are and should never have to apologize for any inconvenience they seem to present, or for who they are.  They are beautiful individuals with a desire to love the Christmas season just as everyone else.  Sometimes that happens; and sometimes it gets lost and buried beneath the inadequacies they are often cruelly reminded they seemingly have, which should never define them.

Instead, differences should be countered with a genuine acceptance of their unique qualities they can openly demonstrate, when allowed; and encouraged by people who love them just because they are!

This is the season for joy, peace, love, faith, happiness and hope.  Every person world wide has the right to claim these virtues regardless of the season.  As we celebrate, we need to remember that our disabled population may struggle to feel celebratory, unless we invite them into our hearts and home with genuine love and respect.

Joy, peace, love, faith, happiness, kindness, acceptance, and hope; let’s extend these foundational Christmas principals (and more) to each and every one we know and meet, regardless of any ability, or dis-ability!

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