Sometimes it only takes a small gesture raises the holiday spirit
Happy December!!
The Christmas and Hanukkah holidays are right around the corner. How you feel about them can be complicated. The highs can make you feel like nothing is better, while the lows can drive you into a deep depression.
It was Christmas Day around ten years ago and I was at a deep low. I was broke, not feeling well physically while living in the basement of a church with thirty others in the same situation. I didn’t see a way out of my despair. While eating lunch a friend sat beside me, put her arm around me and gave me a twenty-dollar bill and a kiss on my cheek. This came from a person who didn’t have much money and spent much of her time battling to keep her sobriety—and usually losing.
Her thoughtfulness didn’t change my situation but it made me feel better—at least for a moment. It certainly did raise my spirits. Small gesture.
A decade later, my situation has changed drastically for the better. While I am grateful for this, that doesn’t mean that everything is perfect because nothing ever is. This year has been far from my favorite—actually, it’s been pretty sucky. I’ve been thinking about it a lot; trying to figure out what I need to work on to make sure 2025 doesn’t end up the same way.
All of this was on my mind when I decided to go for a walk on Monday, at Northbrook Court. It’s somewhat interesting to walk around in a bad mood while watching young children have their photo taken with Santa Claus—quite the juxtaposition. I told you the holidays were complicated.
As I continued my walk, I headed to the bathroom area. I saw an older man sitting on a bench with a pained look on his face. I watched for a moment and noticed he was having trouble getting on his winter coat. I walked up to him and asked if he needed help. He told me that he had rotator cuff problems with both shoulders and sometimes it made it hard to put on a shirt or a jacket—and this was one of those times. Man, did he find the right guy at the right time? After getting his coat on, we sat for a few minutes and traded shoulder surgery stories. We even laughed at a few of them—Solidarity!! He thanked me for the help and we wished each other a happy holiday. Small gesture.
It was off to the next stop:
NIEMAN MARCUS!!
I’ve never bought anything in this store but I love to look at their clothes. It always makes me laugh that a simple plaid shirt could cost five hundred dollars or a pair of loafers can cost a grand. Plus, the salespeople always let me browse without bothering me, so going there is a win/win.
But, on Monday, a salesperson stopped me with this greeting, “Happy holidays. Can I help you with anything?” I said no thank you and started to walk away, but then I told her, “You’re the first person here who has ever asked me if I needed any help.” We then chatted for a couple of minutes—nothing serious, just making conversation. We ended it with smiles on our faces. Small gesture.
The two encounters in the mall made me feel a little bit better and a little less stressed. Yeah, they didn’t change anything in my life or help me make major decisions, but there’s nothing wrong with feeling a little upbeat—even for a short time. And all it took was a simple small gesture.
There are now exactly three weeks left until Christmas Day, with Hanukkah coming a day later. I have twenty-one days to turn it around and get in the mood. We’ll see how it goes. No promises are being made here! But writing this does remind me of my friend from a decade ago. I haven’t seen or heard from her in at least five years—probably longer. I hope she’s doing better than she was when I last saw her. If not, I hope she has the support of someone who will put an arm around her shoulder and kiss her on the cheek. Small gestures.
Happy December!!