Not So Happy Holidays F or many people, thanksgiving heralds a month of myths often culminating in January depression. Newspapers, magazines, the big and little screens and our own childhood wishes propel us towards dreams of wonderful Thanksgiving dinners, Chanukah gelt, Christmas gifts and New Year's revelry replete with resolutions almost surely broken within the month. Dreams of perfect family dinners with everyone sitting down delighting in each other's company remain with us as we go brain dead and forget the fight we had with Uncle Joe two years ago and the reality that we can't stand Aunt Liz's two bratty kids. We try to ignore or we harbor resentment about events such as the year the dog bit your cousin and you remembered all too late that you were allergic to cats and that your grandmother had two. December is often a very stressful and sad month, when all the while we hear jingle bells and are told how happy we will be.
Real families are complex, composed of different personalities and values.
Sometimes they really are able to get along for extended periods of time. Other times, the differences are too pronounced and being flesh and blood isn't enough to make everyone get along or even like each other. Additionally, there are so many divorced families, single families, blended families that the longed for image of Norman Rockwell's tradional family is rapidly fading. Children have to be shared and shunted between households, families, splinter and new mates appear, religious and political beliefs differ and all the while everyone gets exhausted from working so hard to get along. Some families actually do get along.