Tradition

One of the aspects of the holidays that I love best is all of the traditions that emerge or evolve. I had fun freezing the tip of my nose off as my fiancé and I hung lights on our house. I had fun tromping through the snow to cut down a tree to put in our house this past weekend. I had fun hanging ornaments on said tree, even though the pine needles turned my fingers into splotchy red pincushions. I also had fun creating a new tradition. For the first time ever, I made Wassail.

One of my fiancé’s favorite traditions is holiday shopping. The stores and malls come alive over the holiday season, suddenly turning normally cheerful people into cranky shoppers barreling through the aisles with their carts demanding to know why the toy they were after is not in stock. Although buying presents for others is a wonderful tradition during the holidays, we must remember that it is the spirit of giving to others and not the actual gift that is important. With the economy heading south for the winter (and who knows when it will be back…we may see the return of the Canadian geese in the spring before the strength of our economy returns) gift-giving for some people may be limited or not even possible.

We must remember that there are other traditions to take part of during the holidays, and these traditions can be something as simple and free as writing nice notes on pieces of paper and leaving them in the mailboxes of friends and neighbors, or volunteering your time at a local non-profit organization, or building snowmen, or making strings of popcorn to decorate, or making homemade cards, or…the possibilities really are endless.

Even if you do not have any traditions, find something relaxing to do as often as you can to help relieve some of the stress you are feeling, and know that you are not alone! If you or someone you know has thoughts of suicide, please call either Pathways at 2-1-1 (or 345-HELP) or the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK.

--Brittany Schumann
Suicide Prevention Coordinator