A Christmas Message

(Music fades in)

I didn’t know how to go about making this episode, especially once I realized that this will be the last episode I post before Christmas, a major holiday in the Philippines. Which means this is technically the Christmas special, meant to invoke the feelings of the season, but it’s really hard to have any such festive feelings right now. You might look at the calendar and know that it’s December. You might know what you need to get done. Personally, I had a long list of cards to get sent out, but I did so with plenty of time to spare. And yet, it doesn’t quite feel like Christmas. Even the weather isn’t helping. It’s turned colder again, but it wasn’t warm when all the lockdowns first started. So it really felt more like a continuation of the world pre-pandemic than anything else, and it doesn’t even fully feel like that.

But time has moved on. And things have changed, seemingly in worse directions for some of us. But all of us are more disconnected from our families and friends than we ever have been before. And hey, I had an interlude episode that touched on this issue, right? It was one of the first ones. I was essentially complaining that because of scheduling at my job I wasn’t going to be able to go back for the holidays, which feels like a privileged problem, especially now. And yet, loneliness is a pretty compelling force. Reason aside.

So I started thinking… Well, maybe I have some wisdom or insight to offer to make it hurt a bit less, but I don’t. It never gets easier to be away from the people you love on the holidays, especially when so many traditions--in the Philippines and otherwise--are built around bringing families together and celebrating as one.

We can’t do that this year. And next year, it’s possible people will be missing or not as we remember them as a direct result of the virus. This is a difficult time. And for the Christmas season, all I can offer is the hope you and yours are well. If you don’t celebrate this holiday, I still hope you and yours are well for your holidays. Or just for every day. Stay safe. There’s a tomorrow coming.

(Music fades out)