Christmas Miracles

Those who know and love me, fondly call me a Grinch. Mention the holidays to me and I'll start ranting about the excesses and commercialism that is Christmas today.  I'll start raving about the fact that people will sit down on Thanksgiving Day and thank God for all they have.  Then, the very next day, they'll go out and nearly kill each other at some store to save five bucks on a Christmas gift that nobody will remember anyway.  No, I don't hate Christmas - I just hate the Holiday season.  The idea that on one day in December everyone will turn into a Norman Rockwell family and love each other is contrary to the other 364 days a year that these same family members can't stand each other.

It's unrealistic expectations that made me start hating the holidays.  It seems like we always fight more and I hate that.  So, I don't do the holidays anymore.  We put up a tiny little tree, filled with ornaments of all our dogs, we don't exchange gifts, and we do a small simple dinner with the extended family. Christmas is devoted to being a quiet day spent with our dogs and enjoying peace.

 A few years ago, hubby and I spent Christmas in a rented RV, in a state park in West Virginia.  There was noone else there and it was so quiet, we could hear the snow fall.  We dined on Ramen Soup and had the most wonderful snowy Christmas ever.

What will make this Christmas special, though, is love.  Earlier this year, I had started a secret Facebook page for fellow Fibromyalgia sufferers.  There were a few of us who had been on the larger sites and couldn't stand the constant bickering and arguing that went on.  So, we decided to branch off and start another one that was meant to be for support and a place where we could vent in privacy.  Fibromyalgia hits every person differently. Some of us are still able to work and carry some semblance of a normal life. On the other side of the spectrum, some have had to create a new normal, laden with lots of days in bed, racked with pain and no support from friends or family.  Our page was a place they could talk to about anything and know there were no judgments.

From this came another page - a place for adults to vent about anything.  A place where nothing was off limits.  The page, run by a friend, was kept small, so we wouldn't lose each other.  This is where we come to when we've had a fight with a family member, have lost someone or just having a bad day.  Our little group is filled with white, black, straight, gay, Christian, Wiccan, Buddhist - you get the idea.  And we're from all over the world.  But what's really great is that we love and support each other.  We may never get to meet in person, although I hope that's not true, but my sisters (and brother) know more about me than probably anyone.

We are sisters-in-love.  We support each other, we laugh together, we cry together.  When one has been quiet for too long, we'll search for them.  There is never a judgment made, never an angry word.  We recognize and CELEBRATE our differences.  We are there just to help each other through this maze called life.  My husband thinks I'm addicted to Facebook.  Not true.  I'm addicted to my sisterhood.  I want to know what's going on with them and their families.  I care about their every day lives as if they lived a block away from me.  I know most of them better than my neighbors!

Never in my life have I been so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful, supportive and loving group.  Don't get me wrong.  I have a wonderful family.  I have wonderful and close friends.  But being a part of this group of sisters who know exactly how you feel because they feel it too is a blessing.  I don't have to explain myself.  I can just say I'm having a bad day and I feel the comfort of those arms, hugging me gently.

So, this Christmas, I will celebrate love - old love, and new love.  I will celebrate my family, my good friends, and my sisters.  Without them, I would be much lonelier.  But I know that they're always a key stroke away.

To my Get Bent sisters... so many of us are waiting for this holiday season to be over with.  We've had many struggles and challenges this year.  But I am so grateful to celebrate it with you.  Thank you for becoming an important part of my life.  I love you all!

I can't end this without a special thank you to my best friend, Janie.  Without her love and support, I would not have survived this year.  You've encouraged, pushed and held me when I needed it.  Thank you, my friend.  I truly love you and thank you for helping me to heal.