Revolutionary Saturday: How George Washington Spent His Christmas, 1776

Think you’ve got a lot going on for Christmas?

Around this time on Christmas Eve, 1776, George Washington was probably busy planning his deadly attack against the Hessians. You know it as when Washington crossed the Delaware. But what happened after that – when he marched his troops to Trenton, NJ -  made it one of goriest Christmas nights ever.

He had to do it, I know. War is indeed hell. And after all, those Hessians had it coming. Heartless mercenaries. They preferred to kill American soldiers rather than go to the trouble of taking prisoners. They really had to go.

The problem I have with the whole thing is the fact that so many people glorify this moment in Washington’s military career – often citing it was his greatest. Slaughtering a bunch of drunk and sleeping men on Christmas night is not glorious.

Much more valiant were his actions following the Battle of Long Island, when he managed to cross his 10,000 men across the East River to safety. Perhaps no one brings this feat up because he lost the battle. Or maybe it’s because no one captured the moment in a painting.

It was a noble thing to not give up even after losing at the Battle of Long Island, and saving all his men. There would not have been a crossing of the Delaware if not for the crossing of the East River first.

That said, it was a necessary, sad, grim thing which Washington set out to do on Christmas night, 1776. Remember him for both feats, and remember the men who left their families and spent Christmas fighting for our freedom.

Enjoy that freedom, and enjoy your holidays.

May peace and love be with you.

 PS: If you'd like to see illustrator Bill Farnsworth's depiction of the retreat from the Battle of Long Island, check out my book, By the Sword. They are stunning paintings - and the writing's not bad, either ;)

Hokey Pokey Wednesday: Doing the Holiday Gift Dance

             I’ve made a decision to stop buying silly, useless holiday gifts in the name of love.

            The retail industry is adept at tugging on our heart strings. They embed the message: Show your love through gifts.

            The more you give, the more you love them.

            This is so not true. If love could be measured in money, rich kids would all be happy. Check out the celebrity reality shows past and present (IE: Hilton, Kardashian) and you’ll see that some rich kids grow up miserable and broken.

            Shopping not only eats at my wallet, but also my time. I absolutely refuse to go the mall. But I even resent shopping locally. I just cannot stand the commercialism – and worse – the misleading promise of it all.

            Of course we should give our kids something – but not everything!

             I notice that I’m getting all sorts of e-mails about stocking stuffers now. That’s become the next big marketing push. Heaven forbid those stockings aren't bulging with goodies - even if you've spent hundreds of dollars on a gift already!

            I show my love to my kids every day by guiding them through life, giving them food and shelter, and nurturing them with love. Material gifts are a bonus.

            I’m not saying anything new here, I know. And I’m not going to wage a full-scale war against holiday shopping. Let people whip themselves into a frenzy at the mall. I’m not giving into all that nonsense anymore.

            Buddha said, “Simplicity brings more happiness than complexity.”

             I think that fits this situation well. Too many gifts clutter Christmas.

            Think of babies and animals, happy to play with boxes and wrap.

            I’m heading to my writing group now. This is my gift to myself.

            The greatest gifts are, in fact, things that cannot be wrapped – like helping my son through the maze of colleges and applications. It is the gift of his future.

            And like hugging my son Casey, and telling him how much I love him.

            Spending time with our kids is a gift.

            Shakespeare wrote, “Things won are done. Joy’s soul is in the doing.”

            I don’t think “shopping” was the “doing” he was referring to. Just a wild guess.

Tightrope Tuesday: Walking the Holiday High Wire, While Parenting

            I never learned how to ride a bicycle.

            My mom bought me one, but never taught me how to ride it. I mentioned this to her once, when I was grown. She looked at me with contempt and told me, “You should’ve taught yourself.”

            If there is a child who taught him or herself how to ride a bike, I applaud them. I did not have to gumption to try such a thing. I was alone all the time and it was sad enough. I didn’t want to be alone on the ground with a scraped knee, or worse, crying with no one to hug me.

            My ex-husband tried to teach me once, but I couldn’t get past the terror of letting go of my gravity.

            My son Casey tried also, when he was about nine. I had to beg him to give up. It was like I was the child.

            Some things are meant to happen in childhood. When you’re an adult, they’re so much harder.

            Faith is like that for me. I wasn’t exposed to much in the way of it when I was little. Certainly not organized religion. We did celebrate Christmas, but to me it was a time when Santa brought gifts. I thought everyone had a Christmas tree – until I moved to the Five Towns. There, in second grade, I was questioned unmercifully by the other kids. They wanted to know if I was Catholic or Jewish. I had never heard of either of these things, but I desperately wanted to belong. I asked my mom about it that night. She said, “Tell them you’re agnostic.” She didn’t bother explaining, but even if she did it wouldn’t have mattered. Agnostic was not a choice!

            I went back and said I was half-Jewish and half-Catholic. I wanted to be liked be everyone. Instead, no one embraced me.

            There is probably more to this that I’ve blocked out. Our minds try to shield us from the little horrors of our youth. Suffice to say that faith was hard to come by, because I wasn’t quite sure what it even was.

            My aunt was a late-blooming Buddhist. She tried to teach me. I loved my aunt very much, but her zealous, in-your-face method of meditation instruction was not kid-friendly. I really wanted to like it, but I didn't. I couldn't even understand it. All I knew was that you were supposed to say, “Mu.”

            That I have been brought to any faith at all shows us that miracles happen. I do believe in God, but not in the traditional sense. I know there is a power watching over me, guiding me, taking care of me – if I let it. I call it "God" because everyone else does. I could just as easily call it "Harry."

            All of this makes the holiday season a challenge. So many people have their religious rituals and traditions. Then there’s me – with a deep spirituality, but not belonging to any of the groups that bind people together. I tried being a Uniterian. I still call myself one. But after a few months of services I couldn’t handle it anyone. It felt confining. And redundant. The initial comfort I felt in the church was gone.

            My children have no religion. They seem okay with it, perhaps because I explained the concept of religion to them and why they don't have one. I just couldn’t impose something on them that I couldn’t embrace myself. Casey went to the Uniterian Sunday School for a while. But he grew weary of it around the same time that I decided to stop attending services. It was good timing.

            This is not meant to be a condemnation of organized religion. I’m simply saying that it’s not for me.

            So what is Christmas without Christ? Well, it’s a time to show the people you love just how much you appreciate them. It’s a time for gratitude.

            Even though I've come to this conclusion, I get very sad around the holidays. It’s like I'm walking a highwire above all my ghosts of Christmases past, and they're poised to engulf me - smother me - if I fall. And yet, I have to be a parent. Someone who provides guidance, without having known any - and solace, without having experienced any. I have no idea what I'm doing. 

            But the hardest thing is the very thing that redeems me.

            Parenting is my saving grace. My children love me unconditionally, as I love them.

            How can I be a good mother during the holidays? By doing what I do best: Loving my kids.

            And taking that leap of faith: That everything else will follow.