Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Jack Frost nipping at your nose. You just put that to a melody and sang it in your head, didn’t you? Yep, the holidays have rolled around again and the annual Christmas Spirit is here…but it feels different this year, doesn’t it? Besides the expected Christmas songs, Christmas tree, Christmas lights, Christmas traditions, Christmas gifts, Christmas decorations, Christmas story, Christmas movies, Christmas wallpaper, and AAAALL things Christmas…Christmas 2020 could be the most…unique…ever.
Christmas 2020
I think we need all these “normal” Christmas related things now more than we ever have before. As the writer of Escape Day Spa’s blog posts, you need to know that I am a close friend of the owners, a client of the Spa (LOVE a good Relaxation Massage!), and usually a Holiday Humbug. This year I am all those things except the Humbug. After everything we’ve been through in 2020, I am welcoming the holidays with open arms. Why? Because we need JOY.
Yes, many of us lost loved ones this year. Yes, many of us battled sickness – physical, emotional, and mental sickness. Yes, fear became more real to us as individuals, a community, a city, a state, a nation, and a world. And yes, it’s not over. Please understand, I’m not minimizing anyone’s pain and I’m not asking you to ignore your pain. I’m asking you to embrace it and let others minister to it through their PRESENCE. Because we need one another.
Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas…
So, although I am just a voice on a screen for a business in the beautiful small community of Homewood, Alabama, I want to encourage you to embrace this Christmas season with boldness and expectancy! Not an expectancy for the gifts you want to receive, but an expectancy for precious family time, a toast with close friends, laughter, and hope for the coming year. Approach it with a boldness that deflates the power of fear, anxiety, and depression! Christmas is beautiful and we are all ready for the closeness and magic that happens during the holidays! We need to be around people and we need warm HUGS!
And yes, I am shamelessly suggesting you get a massage! 2020 has greatly limited one of our biggest needs as humans! TOUCH! A massage not only fills that need, but you can literally REST assured during your massage that you are safe from 2020 threats while at Escape. We, like many others, have gone to great extremes to make our environment a clean and safe place while still maintaining that luxuriously, relaxing escape you love so much. Besides being touched, massage helps our mental health. You can read more on that here. Massage too much So treat yourself for goodness’ sake! And since it IS the season for gift-giving, treat those you love the most. You can have a feel-good day out TOGETHER!
Home for the Holidays
We miss seeing smiles when people talk. We miss being able to hug one another without the thought of sickness lurking in the background. Let’s stop giving germs and bacteria our full attention, and refocus our attention on each other this holiday season. I’m not saying throw all caution to the wind and violate healthy guidelines. I’m saying, let’s pour ourselves into the spirit of the season and fully embrace it within those guidelines. Instead of giving worry and fear front row seats, let’s give love, laughter, and joy the best seats in the house. Let’s be mentally HOME for the holidays. Let’s celebrate togetherness. Let’s defy all odds and have a Merry Christmas 2020, everyone.
